Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works will enact new winter parking regulations starting Sunday, and they'll mean more snow emergencies and much steeper fines.
Previously the city enforced two sets of special rules for winter parking, one for plowing operations and another for snow emergencies. Under the new rules, now anytime the city needs to plow it will be considered a snow emergency.
When a snow emergency is declared, alternate side parking will be required unless the city says otherwise. Alternate side parking will be enforced from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning. That start time is an hour earlier than in the past.
And with those stricter rules come higher penalties. Fines will now escalate for declared snow emergencies, with a $50 ticket for the first violation, a $100 ticket for the second violation and a $150 ticket for subsequent violations. Cars with three violations or more may be towed.
Previously tickets were $40 per violation.
"We heard from the public we needed stiffer penalties to encourage more people to follow these snow emergency rules," Tom Woznick, the Milwaukee DPW's parking services manager, said in a statement.
The city's full winter parking regulations are outlines on its website. You can also sign up to receive snow emergency alerts from the city.