Bloomington, MN Parking Rules: Snow Removal Parking Rules (2026)

Division D of Article IV in Chapter 8 of the Bloomington City Code holds the winter parking rules, and it works through two triggers.

The first is automatic. Section 8.45 bars any person from parking a motor vehicle on any public right-of-way in the city, or permitting one to remain there, for a period of 48 hours commencing immediately after the National Weather Service has announced that three inches or more of snow has continuously fallen. No city declaration is needed for this ban, so the National Weather Service announcement starts the clock.

The second is a declared snow emergency. Section 8.46 imposes the same 48-hour bar commencing immediately after the city has declared a snow emergency and provided public notice of it on the city website and on the city's snow emergency hotline. Those two channels are the ones the code names for notice.

Both sections end the ban early on the same condition: the 48 hours run until snow removal comprising the full width of the public street has been completed, whichever occurs first. A street that is plowed curb to curb before the 48 hours are up is open again at that point.

Section 8.47 covers towing. Any motor vehicle parked in violation of the code is deemed a nuisance that interferes with snow removal from public rights-of-way. Under the Bloomington Police Department Manual, Patrol Procedures 306 and 316, any law enforcement officer can follow the orange tag procedure to cause the vehicle to be towed. Towing does not preclude prosecution for violations of Division D. The division consists of these three sections, and § 8.41(e) separately lets the Director of Public Works or the Police Chief, or designees, temporarily prohibit parking on a public right-of-way during maintenance or a public safety emergency.