Nearly 1,500 St. Paul motorists have been cited for violating a recently declared ban on even-side-of-the-street parking, which has been put in place because of narrowing streets due to record snows.

St. Paul Police have issued 1,458 citations to violators since noon on Monday, when the even-side parking ban began, through 10 a.m. Thursday. The ban is expected to continue until April, or whenever streets are readily passable for emergency vehicles.

Still, relative to a typical snow emergency, those numbers are hardly staggering.

The average two-day snow emergency this season resulted in 2,800 citations and 475 tows, according to St. Paul Public Works. (Tow numbers from the even-side parking ban were not readily available Thursday).

One reason for the lower-than-typical number of citations over the past week could be higher-than-average compliance.

Another? Police are being nice. Ticketing and towing began Monday, but it was mostly focused on cars that have sat idle for an extended period, blocking plow routes.

“We’re certainly not trying to punish people. We wanted to give people time to acclimate to the new rules,” said St. Paul Police spokesman Steve Linders. “We’re enforcing, but we’re trying to do it with compassion.”

When it comes to Old Man Winter and Mother Nature this year, compassion has been fleeting. In all of 2017, the city declared a single snow emergency. In 2018, there were five. This season, the city has already called six snow emergencies, and as much as 10 inches of snow or more are expected on Saturday.

The city typically braces for two to four snow emergencies per calendar year, each one costing a rough average of $600,000 from the city’s general fund for ticketing, towing and the like.

The National Weather Service said February broke several records. It was the Twin Cities’ fourth-snowiest month of all time, with a total of 39 inches of snowfall. Normal snowfall for the entire season is 54.4 inches, a number that was surpassed by Feb. 28.

The first snow emergency of the season, which began Jan. 28, resulted in 3,277 citations and 497 tows, according to Public Works.

For the snow emergency that began Feb. 12, there were 2,899 citations and 624 tows.

On March 1, there were 3,144 citations and 417 tows.

St. Paul last imposed citywide parking restrictions in 2014 during that winter’s heavy snowfall.

Minneapolis also has imposed the one-side parking restrictions this year.

IN THE EVENT OF A SNOW EMERGENCY ON SATURDAY

If the city of St. Paul calls a snow emergency on Saturday, the even-side parking ban would be suspended as of 4 p.m., and normal snow emergency rules would apply as of 9 p.m. The even-side parking ban would take effect again at 8 a.m. Monday, or whenever the snow emergency is declared over. Daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday.