Most Minneapolis City Council candidates say ‘yes’ to at least exploring municipal sidewalk snow plowing

For the past year, some Minneapolis City Council members have pushed the city to create a municipal program to clear snow and ice off sidewalks each winter.

Proponents say the change would relieve a backbreaking legal obligation for property owners, who currently have up to 24 hours to clear a snowy or icy sidewalk. But Mayor Jacob Frey has been chilly to the idea, questioning how the city would find enough workers – let alone pay – for such a program.

As Minneapolis’ Nov. 7 elections approach, sidewalk shoveling has become an “only-in-Minnesota” issue dividing the City Council candidates. Proponents argue the move is worth the expense to make the city more livable in winter. Critics believe a municipal sidewalk-clearing program would become a textbook example of government run amok.

“The city already has trouble plowing streets and alleys on time,” wrote Luther Ranheim, a candidate in the race for the open Ward 12 seat, in his answer to MinnPost’s candidate survey. “The estimated cost of this program … is prohibitively expensive.”

• Related: Read MinnPost’s guide to where Minneapolis & St. Paul City Council candidates stand on hot topics

In June, city officials estimated that a city-wide shoveling program would cost $40 million per year, enough to eat through all the new money generated by next year’s already-budgeted property tax levy increase – and that’s not counting tens of millions more in start-up costs.

However, that $40 million estimate assumes the city would roll a new fleet of plows on all 1,900 miles of sidewalks after every trace snowfall, and some council candidates say the city could explore cheaper options – for example: clearing only high-traffic pedestrian corridors or plowing only after heavier snows.

“We can come together on this,” suggested Aurin Chowdhury, another Ward 12 candidate. “What’s clear is we cannot spend $40 million a year to shovel every city sidewalk, and that seniors, people with disabilities, and renters are facing undue hardship from un-cleared sidewalks.”

City staffers have suggested a $735,000 subsidy to the city’s neighborhood associations – some of which already coordinate snow removal programs – could provide shoveling services for some 2,100 seniors living alone. Chowdhury suggested a similar pilot program that would rely on “neighborhood associations, neighbors who enjoy shoveling, our young people and more.”

Nancy Ford, who’s also running in Ward 12, also told MinnPost she felt neighborhood associations “can more effectively deploy resources to do this … They understand even better than the council the needs of residents.”

The current council is likely to decide whether to fund some type of sidewalk shoveling program in this year’s budget talks – but will the next City Council ramp up, or slow down, any snow shoveling program?

Below, we’ve summarized where candidates who responded to MinnPost’s candidate survey stand on municipal sidewalk clearing.

To see where this year’s City Council candidates in both St. Paul and Minneapolis stand on a wide range of hot topics, check out MinnPost’s “Who’s running?” guide.

Should Minneapolis create a municipal program to clear snow and ice from sidewalks?

Ward 1

• Edwin Fruit: Yes
• Elliott Payne (incumbent): Yes, noting the program “doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”

Ward 2

• Robin Wonsley: Yes

Ward 3

• Marcus Mills: Yes, “but it should involve the contractors that have been a major part of our effort to this point.”
• Incumbent Michael Rainville filled out the survey in late June. At the time, Rainville noted the council was awaiting more information on a series of pilot programs. He has since voted in favor of a non-binding budget recommendation to fund a pilot program and an online interactive tool to track street and sidewalk clearing in 2024.

Ward 4

• Leslie Davis: No
• Marvina Haynes: Yes
• Angela Williams: Yes, though the services should be provided by some of the city’s existing vendors
• LaTrisha Vetaw (incumbent): No

Ward 5

• Jeremiah Ellison (incumbent): Yes, though it “does not have to encompass shoveling every inch of every sidewalk.”
• Victor Martinez: No
• Phillip Peterson: Prefers exploring “heated sidewalks,” but also willing to explore hiring part-time employees to plow

Ward 6

• Kayseh Magan: Yes
• Jamal Osman (incumbent): Yes, though he’d only support “lower cost” programs like greater enforcement or free senior removal services
• Tiger Worku: Yes

Ward 7

• Katie Cashman: Yes, but start with a pilot program “in select areas.”
• Scott Graham: No
• Kenneth Foxworth: Yes

Ward 8

• Andrea Jenkins (incumbent): Yes, supports a pilot program
• Soren Stevenson: Yes
• Terry White: Yes

Ward 9

• Jason Chavez (incumbent): Yes, supports piloting to find the right “balance of funding” that would enable investments in housing and safety
• Dan Orban: Yes

Ward 10

• Aisha Chughtai (incumbent): Yes
• Bruce Dachis: No

Ward 11

• Gabrielle Prosser: Yes

Ward 12

• Aurin Chowdhury: Yes, supports pilot program, but not spending $40 million
• Nancy Ford: Yes, “via neighborhood associations.”
• Luther Ranheim: No

Ward 13

• Kate Mortenson: No
• Zach Metzger: Yes
• Linea Palmisano: No, but supports tightened enforcement and “neighborhood programs that could focus on a smaller scale, such as clearing sidewalks for elderly and disabled residents.”