Does Minneapolis need a big new taxpayer-funded initiative to take over a long-standing private task: clearing winter snow from sidewalks?
Minneapolis City Council members will discuss that question Thursday at a Public Works & Infrastructure Committee meeting. The proposal from two council members could go into effect as early as 2024 and include the entire 2,000-mile city sidewalk network by 2027.
It’s also getting a public airing tonight, in an online forum sponsored by Open Streets Minneapolis, an alternative transportation nonprofit that promotes non-car travel in the city.
“There’s going to be community members, council members… hopefully some people providing some expertise on the environmental impacts of snow accumulation and snow removal,” said José Antonio Zayas Cabán, advocacy director at Open Streets.
Open Streets is advocating for a citywide, publicly-funded sidewalk clearing program.
Zayas Cabán said access for people who need or want to walk, and easy passage for wheelchair and transit users, is worth the effort. Curbing snow blowing and other power equipment use could aid the environment, he said.
The city has an ordinance requiring property owners to clear their sidewalks within 24 hours, but complaints about widespread neglect have grown common.
A 2018 study by the city estimated a citywide sidewalk program would cost $5 million to start and about $20 million a year, for continuous service through 18-20 snowfalls.
That’s not small change: The city’s general property tax levy that year was $332 million — and a new sidewalk program would add about 6 percent to that levy and put yet more pressure on housing affordability in the city.
City officials have also expressed doubt about whether, in the current economy, they could put together an on-call workforce that could get the job done. The city is already challenged with the infrastructure it is responsible for now, like filling potholes and plowing the streets.
Zayas Cabán said property owners now spend millions on snow removal. Having a citywide program might offer some larger economies cut inefficient and high-emission engine use like snowblowers, as well as clear more sidewalks, he said,
“We're talking about 30 percent of people in the city that cannot afford to own cars, 10 percent of people in the city who report to have a disability,” he said. “We're talking about political will and values that will lead us into a place where these people aren't forced to feel marginalized and they have equal access to employment and other amenities.”