What do you love about Winter in Minnesota? (Austin: live in, store)

[dravogadro]

^^^ ++ Or a decent set of fenders.

I walked faster than the cars on the road tonight.

Many people will bike & bus this time of year because of the road conditions. Especially if they have to go to St Paul.

You can deal with ice (to some degree) with these:


The bike paths (some) are in pretty good shape compared to the roads...no ice warts/moon rocks/whatever you want to call that mess in the streets.

[Beenhere4ever]

Drove from Ford Parkway to University on Snelling. Terrible. For several blocks, it looked like the trucks didn't even hit the place. Seems unlikely for St Paul to skip one of its most heavily traveled arteries, but the amount of slush could easily be what was left after days and days of heavy travel. Also went west on Marshall. The west side of the bridge was utterly different from the east side. Go figure.

[tvdxer]

Nothing. And I'm 26. Plenty young. I stopped liking winter around the age of 18. It's simply rotten in Duluth. The air is cold, the wind (when it blows) is brutal, the indoor environment is ridiculously arid (something I am sensitive to), the ground wet, etc., etc. I could go on and on, but I won't. I pretty much live for the summer and fall (if it's warm).

The exception is in November and December when the snow falls. It always seems a little bit warmer then, and the snow on the trees is beautiful.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Drove from Ford Parkway to University on Snelling. Terrible. For several blocks, it looked like the trucks didn't even hit the place. Seems unlikely for St Paul to skip one of its most heavily traveled arteries, but the amount of slush could easily be what was left after days and days of heavy travel. Also went west on Marshall. The west side of the bridge was utterly different from the east side. Go figure.

You should try Como Avenue on either side of Snelling. That is the worst winter road surface I have ever seen. It's not just a simple washboard; it is a very unusual, evenly-spaced diagonal pattern of ice ruts, almost like it was done on purpose. I can only imagine that it must have been created by heavy vehicles like buses or tractor-trailers or something. Never seen anything like it. It is absolutely murder to drive in a passenger car.

When it gets that bad, I would really like to see the city do something to fix it. Go out there and dump boiling water on the road for all I care. I swear, the next guy who says anything to the effect of "well, this is what makes us tough Minnesotans!" is going to get strung up from something. Our complete inability to deal with winter road conditions is what makes us incompetent, not tough. Excuses abound. A foot of snow should not disable an urban road system in Minnesota 72 hours after the storm.

[freezengirl]

That it will eventually end! :-)

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by Globe199

You should try Como Avenue on either side of Snelling. That is the worst winter road surface I have ever seen. It's not just a simple washboard; it is a very unusual, evenly-spaced diagonal pattern of ice ruts, almost like it was done on purpose. I can only imagine that it must have been created by heavy vehicles like buses or tractor-trailers or something. Never seen anything like it. It is absolutely murder to drive in a passenger car.

When it gets that bad, I would really like to see the city do something to fix it. Go out there and dump boiling water on the road for all I care. I swear, the next guy who says anything to the effect of "well, this is what makes us tough Minnesotans!" is going to get strung up from something. Our complete inability to deal with winter road conditions is what makes us incompetent, not tough. Excuses abound. A foot of snow should not disable an urban road system in Minnesota 72 hours after the storm.

The explanations of St Paul Public Works don't pass the smell test to me. The fact there is ZERO sand a major intersections has nothing to do with freezing temperatures. And the fact that Lake Street and Marshall, after the same storm, are so different just shows that climate isn't the explanation. I think I'm switching to I-94 for the duration. At least MNDOT knows what it is doing.

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

The explanations of St Paul Public Works don't pass the smell test to me. The fact there is ZERO sand a major intersections has nothing to do with freezing temperatures. And the fact that Lake Street and Marshall, after the same storm, are so different just shows that climate isn't the explanation. I think I'm switching to I-94 for the duration. At least MNDOT knows what it is doing.

Are you really surprised that Minneapolis and St Paul have differing levels of snow-clearing credibility? And that Minneapolis is better? It's just another of those many services that I believe could be more efficient by being combined between the two cities.

[Beenhere4ever]

Oh, I agree. I'd love MNDOT to organize and run snow clearance for the entire metro area. I went to St Paul and back on I94 today. PERFECTION. They definitely have the knowledge and the procedures manual. Everybody else seems like they never made the varsity. But local governments keep jobs they just can't do right.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Oh, I agree. I'd love MNDOT to organize and run snow clearance for the entire metro area. I went to St Paul and back on I94 today. PERFECTION. They definitely have the knowledge and the procedures manual. Everybody else seems like they never made the varsity. But local governments keep jobs they just can't do right.

This has more to do with the number of drivers on 94 vs the side/residential streets then MnDot's snow clearing ability. St. Paul and Minneapolis have NEVER been good at clearing residential streets. It's impossible to get them clean with the cars parked along those roads. They can't do a good curb to curb cleaning as a result and then snow just gets pushed back into the roads as cars move from various spots. The issue was that the sun came out, melted some of that snow to slush and then froze again overnight. We are going to see the same thing tomorrow morning. I look at the residential streets here and there is a good inch of ice on parts that are not well traveled. The well traveled roads are clear and dry though.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by plain and simple

Up to 10" in the metro by tomorrow night with wind chill temps to reach -30*F! Comfort food season has begun! Woo Hoo! First order of business, Chicken and Bacon Pot Pies with Puff Pastry Lids.

My cat is currently mesmerized by the thick snowfall out the window. The only question left is, will tomorrow be a snow day from work? I take the very first bus in the morning and it usually drops me off 15 minutes before 6am (I start at 6). I guess I'll know in 18 hours.

That sounds yummy. Are you willing to share the recipe?