St. Petersburg Committee Allows Snowdrifts for Children's Play

In St. Petersburg, snow piles in parks can be left uncleared if they become sites for children's amusement. The city's improvement committee announced this.

Jan 27, 2026

The committee«s decision allows snow piles to remain in parks if they serve as play areas for children.
Source:
St. Petersburg Improvement Committee

The St. Petersburg Improvement Committee allows for the possibility of leaving individual snowdrifts in city gardens and parks. The decision applies to snow banks that do not obstruct pedestrian movement.

Workers left a snowdrift in a square after seeing children repeatedly slide down and play on it.
Source:
St. Petersburg Improvement Committee

On January 21, the agency explained that the exception is made specifically for organizing children«s leisure. »St. Petersburg is such a special city that sometimes children here lack snow,« joked the committee.

In a contrast, an unauthorized snow slide in another district was promptly removed by maintenance crews.
Source:
St. Petersburg Improvement Committee

An example is a snowdrift in the square on Moskovsky Prospekt between houses 179 and 189. It formed after the area was cleared, and according to the rules, it was subject to removal, but this time the workers of the garden-park enterprise deviated from the norm.

«Young residents with such joy began playing »king of the hill« here, digging tunnels, sliding down countless times and climbing back up, that the gardeners decided to leave this attraction in the square for now. Everyone is happy!» commented the committee.

In contrast, a homemade snow slide in a courtyard on the Petrograd Side was removed. A team of janitors came out to eliminate the unauthorized object.