City's snow call system worked well

BY JASON HOPPIN

Pioneer Press

Despite a new phone warning system that authorities say worked well, more than 400 St. Paul drivers had their cars towed during the season's first big snowfall.

As of 6:15 a.m., 409 cars had been hauled to one of two St. Paul impound lots after more than six inches of snow blanketed the region. More than 500 were towed in Minneapolis.

If you're waiting in line to get your car, you may be in for sticker shock. The city raised impound fees this year, and you'll be out $165.21 if your car gets towed.

While tows are slightly down from the first big snowfall last year, overall number of cars ticketed took a huge dive. During the first snowfall last year, nearly 3,500 cars were ticketed. This year? Just 1,334.

"The phone system worked beautifully," Public Works Director Bob Sandquist said.

The city tried an automated snow emergency notification system for the first time last year. But the system failed to reach large numbers of people, and the city jettisoned the contractor.

This year, the city hired Florida-based Code Red to make the calls, and Sandquist said the system was 95 percent effective.