Madison is not a parking-friendly city. You will be ticketed. You will be towed. You will have to drive around the block to find a place to park.
Parking in the city of Madison is a skill, especially during sporting events and anytime near Halloween weekend. As if the city was not crowded enough, special events will invite more people into the city where parking is already a problem. Even the sidewalks are overcrowded with bikers and walkers.
To make parking more difficult, winter is approaching and the winter ordinance further restricts parking throughout the city of Madison to solely one side of the street.
Beginning Nov. 15 and ending March 15, the winter ordinance requires vehicles to park on alternate sides of the street according to the date.
On even numbered days vehicles must be parked on the even side of the street and on odd numbered days vehicles must be parked on the odd side of the street according to the addresses. It will be enforced seven days a week, from 1 a.m. to 7 p.m., regardless of the weather. Street parking already restricted to one side of the street is exempt.
The winter ordinance is enforced to allow the streets to be plowed. Vehicles that have not been moved can create problems.
'The plow driver will just plow around the vehicle. Once the car is removed, the snowplow operator will clean up the remaining snow piles. It can also leave snow piles that may be hazardous,' said Michael Sproul, winter maintenance director from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Those in violation of the winter ordinance are subject to a $10 citation and a $20 citation during a snow emergency. Snow emergencies include any kind of weather in which residential streets must be plowed. In order to give crews enough time to plow the streets, it remains in effect for a minimum of 48 hours and may be extended if conditions persist. To find out if a snow emergency is in effect call (608) 262-9111.
Other exemptions include the downtown isthmus Snow Emergency Zone extending from Yahara Street in the north to Park Street in the south. In this area, vehicles are only required to park on alternate sides of the street during snow emergencies. During a declared snow emergency individuals may park their vehicles in city ramps at no charge from 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. After 7 a.m., charges apply.
According to the Department of Transportation, the winter ordinance exists to ensure safety. Other problems arise if they are not adhered to.
'I think people not following [the winter ordinance] makes the whole situation worse because they cannot get the snow off the road. It becomes impossible to park on some streets because the snow just keeps building up,' said Stephen Fly, a UW-Madison first-year graduate student. Some individuals shovel out their own vehicle and endure the $20 fine.
'We try to enforce [citations] as consistently as we can throughout the city,' said Teri Bultman a parking enforcement supervisor with the Madison Parking Division.
Parking enforcement in the winter can also be more difficult as well as parking itself.
'It's cold. It's wet. It means cleaning off license plates and getting through the snow yourself,' Bultman said.
According to Bultman, people generally obey the winter ordinance as the winter progresses though, in the beginning they may forget because they were not asked to park on alternate sides of the street all summer.
Towing throughout the University is avoided when possible. According to Patricia Lux-Weber a customer service, citation and special event manager at UW-Madison, approximately two cars are towed per week. The day of football games, however, 20-40 cars may be towed in a single morning. The number of violators tends to increase in the bad weather.
'When the weather gets worse, people typically tend to violate more. That includes rainy weather. People want to park as close as they can to the building,' Lux-Weber said.
Typically tickets are given instead of towing. However, if an individual owes over $100 in fines and has not paid them within the last month, their vehicle will be towed.
Technician Keith Strain of Zimbrick Car Dealership in Madison encourages individuals to keep their cars in good condition for the winter. He advises individuals to get the oil changed, get a tune up, 'make sure the battery and alternator are working properly' and make sure that the tires are properly filled with air.
'Cold weather has a drastic effect on air pressure in tires,' Strain said. He also advises that the worse thing to do to a vehicle in the winter is to 'continue to crank it,' if it does not start.
