Minneapolis parks workers strike delays storm cleanup

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Dozens of trees are still blocking paths in Minneapolis today, four days after powerful storms.

If it seems like it’s taking longer than usual to clean up, it is, because parks employees are on strike.

A leisurely walk along the Mississippi turned into a mapping expedition for Travis Clark and John Kolander, visiting Minneapolis from New London.

"It's pretty serious," Clark told FOX 9.

A downed tree blocked their path just north of Broadway. A couple more trees forced runners and bicyclists to take detours on Nicollet Island.

"It could mean some real burden for people if they are commuting that way," Clark said.

The trees have spent four days on the ground since weekend storms that normally would’ve sent Minneapolis Parks arborists scrambling into cleanup mode.

"It's pretty much all hands on deck at that point," said Anthony Smith, an arborist and tree inspector for Minneapolis Parks.

The Parks Board has gotten 415 reports of downed trees. They'd cleared 256 as of Wednesday morning.

They’ve taken the usual approach to cleanup — prioritizing the dangerous spots and offering overtime to get the work done.

But problems have lingered, like a tree blocking 18th Avenue Southeast for three days.

More than half of Minneapolis parks employees are on strike, including all but a few arborists, who lead tree cleanups in parks and on boulevards.

The Parks Board admits the strike has slowed things down, but a spokesperson pointed to another storm two years ago that took more than a week to clean up even with a full crew.

"The initial situational awareness, opening of streets, and citywide cleanup is well underway," they said in an emailed statement. "The work is getting done."

Arborists say people should already have their roads and trails back.

"Typically, a storm of this size we probably would have wrapped it up in a couple of days," Smith said.

Parks employees told us they really want to get back on the job and finish the cleanup, but negotiations stalled yesterday and there’s no timetable for restarting them.