Hopkins Twin Cities: Public Works and Snow Plowing in the Big City - CANCELLED

Hopkins Twin Cities

Join alumni and friends as we learn what it takes to manage snow and ice control in one of the Twin Cities major urban municipalities.  Held at the Public Works, Fleet Services Division facility just west of downtown, the morning will consist of a presentation and question and answer period with Mike Kennedy of Public Works, followed by a shop tour to kick a few tires, and see some of the equipment used to battle snow in Minneapolis.  Al Thunberg, Maintenance Manager from the Fleet Services Division will accompany us as well.

Public Works is responsible for maintaining nearly 1,000 miles of streets, 400 miles of alleys, and a growing number of trails and bicycling facilities, all with their own particular challenges.  We will talk about snow and ice control in general, how Public Works staffs for the winter, winter preparedness, response strategies, and how we deal with any winter events from a few freezing bridge decks, to a major winter blizzard.  Unlike the suburbs, the urban core cities must manage a parking problem in order to plow streets full width.  With that comes a Snow Emergency Plan that includes heavy enforcement of parking rules, as well as an aggressive public outreach effort to encourage compliance with the rules.

Mike is the Director of the Transportation & Repair Division of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works. He has been with the City for 25 years and involved with snow and ice control in some capacity for most of that time.  He is a Minneapolis area native, but has a BS in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University.