Piled-up snow making for difficult driving in downtown Fargo

FARGO — More than a foot of snow left by the recent winter storm created chaos for people driving in downtown Fargo Thursday, March 2.

The snow buildup in parking spots meant many cars couldn't pull all the way into them, which in turn made streets harder for drivers to navigate.

Some two ways were essentially turned into one ways because there wasn't enough room for two cars to pass.

In the midst of all this, some NDSU students and friends were trying to dig out a car that had been buried since Wednesday by the storm.

Sunshine Diem, the student whose car was buried, said they had put off clearing the car because school was canceled yesterday. But now their luck had run out and something had to be done.

"Today they did not cancel school and I have an appointment later in the day, so there really wasn't an option," Diem said.

One of the people who dug out the car was simply a passerby who stopped to help. Logan Dusek came all the way from campus, navigating the tight roads themselves.

"There's always cars sticking halfway out in your lane, so you've just kind of gotta make your way and hopefully no one's coming the other way," Dusek said.

But a clean out was coming. City of Fargo Public Works Director Ben Dow said it's challenging to clear out downtown, because they can only work there at night and have no extra space to dump snow.

This time around, they'll be working downtown on Friday night into Saturday morning. According to Dow, they don't normally clear at that time due to bar traffic.

"We know with the amount of snow that's down there that we have to do it," Dow said.

So while conditions may be dicey in downtown at the moment, it will be getting better soon. But Dow suggests drivers park in one of the ramps if they must park downtown at night this weekend, to avoid getting their car impounded while they work to clean the streets and avenues.