Snow removal in downtown Minot frustrates business owners | News, Sports, Jobs

While some businesses have been able to dig their own passages, large swathes of snow continue to block access for several blocks. One owner who is particularly frustrated by the city's lack of action to address the issue is Darwin Van Dyke, who operates Ruel Barber Services in the Fair Building on Main Street.

“People can't get in here. We have elderly customers. Even with walkers and canes and things like that, they have to walk down the main street to get to the intersection to get onto the sidewalk. Downtown snow removal is… It’s been awful for 20 years.” Van Dyke said. “Like when we were wearing 24 inches, we couldn't move the snow. It's like Dakota Square saying, 'We're open for business, but we're not going to move the snow.' . What's the difference? That was something else. Maybe now she can get 20 calls. they don't understand it. ”

Chad Wright, president of the Minot Downtown Business & Professional Association, said the issue of snow piles downtown is an ongoing concern. But Wright said his own outlook is more positive, saying he felt the city was moving in the right direction after making the offer at last fall's City Council meeting. A town hall meeting was held in November, which Wright said led to further productive discussions with City Manager Harold Stewart.

“There was a town hall meeting I think a few months ago at City Hall where Harold mentioned that they were working on getting operators and equipment and that he and his team were going to help clear snow downtown this year. We talked about taking a new approach in 2018. Mr. Wright said. “We were looking forward to seeing what the snowfall would be this year. It's been pretty light so far. We haven't had any major snowstorms or anything like that this year. We were downtown yesterday and there was snow all around us. But it's snowing all over town.”

Charles Crane/MDN Snow left behind by street plowing operations after recent snowfalls remained piled up between the road and sidewalk in front of the Fair Building in downtown Minot on Tuesday.

Wright said the takeaway from his conversations with Stewart is that there will be a learning process for the team as they study the nuances of snowfall and explore additional operators and equipment, but there is no clear future for the team. He said the strategic plan is an ongoing process.

Wright said the City Council and administration will communicate with him regarding when downtown streets will be plowed during this season's snow events, giving lawmakers and downtown business owners the opportunity to move their vehicles in a timely manner. I praised him for being able to do so.

“He said it's probably going to be a different year every year and each storm will be different. When I was downtown yesterday, I saw it snowing, but in the next day or two it was going to be 30 degrees. It's about to snow in the 40s, so I don't think it'll last long. If we get dumped in 6 feet of snow, I think all bets are off. A few years ago, there was a time when the whole city was paralyzed. There was. In certain snow events, there's not much you can do about it.” Mr. Wright said.

Stewart said his team's efforts to review and prepare a new plan have been hampered by relatively minimal weather events this winter, so communication with downtown management will address the issue at this time. Said it was the best solution.

“We had a pretty mild winter, so we didn't have a chance to test anything or practice anything this year. One of the things we talked about was improving communication with downtown businesses and partners and making sure that when It was to let them know if they were going to remove the snow.” Stewart said. “Council approved adding light and heavy equipment operators in this budget, which will give us more resources for snow removal downtown and off alleys.”

Wright said the lack of a concrete plan at this time is not a major concern as he is happy the city is listening. Wright hopes Stewart and his team will keep their promise to think outside the box and develop a new approach to snow removal downtown.

“That's all we're asking. We just want someone to pay attention to the snow here and realize it's a problem and get some people together and come up with ideas.” I want you to.” Mr. Wright said. “Right now, that's all we're asking. Recognize that there's a problem and look at it through a different lens. It takes time.”

Van Dijk disagreed with Wright's optimism, saying: “Would you look into it? They've been doing this for years. It's pathetic and nothing's going on. “Yes, we'll look into it.” That's all they always say. Why not try crawling over the snowman? How about a cane? ”

Stewart said teams are implementing the city's current snow removal plan to address key access routes and emergency routes, ensuring roads are clear for teams to load, plow and transport snow downtown. He said he plans to reach out to businesses downtown soon to confirm. To North Hill. Stewart said there is no better place to dump snow near the area downtown because of concerns about flood control and runoff when the snow melts.

“The challenge is that space downtown is limited. Even if it's temporary, the snow has to go somewhere. There's no convenient place to do it downtown.” Stewart said. “When you factor in the people, equipment and gasoline to get it up the hill and dump it back and forth, this becomes a very expensive operation. It's not cheap labor.”