Minneapolis – St Paul Snow Plowing and Sidewalk Snow Removal MN
Winter and snow go hand-in-hand if you live in Minnesota. Follow these tips to prepare the exterior of your property for winter weather, while also helping the City provide better service during a snow emergency. Prepare the exterior of your home for snow:
- Clean leaves and other debris from your gutter. Dirty, clogged gutters can cause ice and snow buildup on your roof, leading to costly leaks.
- Turn on your snow blower to make sure it’s in good working order.
- Drain your outdoor hoses and sprinklers and bring them inside so they don’t freeze or crack.
Help the City provide better snow plowing services:
- Have an experienced professional Minnesota lawn care service cut tree limbs away from power lines, the roof of your house and all sidewalks adjacent to your property. During the winter, tree limbs can be weighed down by the snow and snap, damaging your property and getting in the way of snow plows.
It’s illegal in Saint Paul to leave snow accumulation on a sidewalk. The City of St. Paul requires owners and renters to remove snow and ice within 24 hours after a snowfall from public sidewalks bordering their buildings or lots. Read Chapter 113 and Chapter 114 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code. The City will contact the property owner to make sure that the sidewalk gets shoveled as soon as possible. In extreme cases, the City may send a crew to clear the sidewalk, and bill the property owner for the (high-priced) work.
Minneapolis Ordinance requires that property owners clear sidewalks after the end of a snowfall within 24 hours for homes and duplexes. Four daytime hours for apartment and commercial buildings (daytime hours begin at 8 am).
Do Not Shovel Snow Back Onto The Roadway
Word to the wise: Don’t throw snow in street
Minneapolis and St. Paul both have rules against shoveling snow into the street. This comes to mind because both cities acknowledge that their plows will leave a ridge of snow across your driveway or alley. Try not to take it personally! As satisfying as it might be to shovel that stuff back into the street, a snowplow operator is just doing their job and not intentionally trying to create a hardship for you. They also wake up, or come home to a berm that they have to shovel as well.
Know what is too much for you. If a big storm is coming and you have a job that requires you to be there, arrange to have your driveway and berm plowed by a reliable Minnesota snow plowing service. In the event of a heavy snowfall, you may need to have the contractor plow your berm a couple of times in one day to keep up with our plows, which are also trying to keep up with the snowfall.
Most snow removal services will offer several different kinds of plans. You’ll be able to decide if you want an on-going service that shows up every time it snows or if you want to call on an as-needed basis. It’s a good idea, however, to have some sort of understanding set up before the snow begins to fly, because once the roads get bad, scheduling becomes a big issue for these companies. If you can, please help your neighbors who are elderly or disabled by shoveling their driveway and berm.