City of Milwaukee issues 4,200 parking citations in 1st winter storm of 2019





MILWAUKEE -- Mind the signs when the snow is flying or you will be one of thousands of vehicle owners stuck with a citation from the City of Milwaukee.

Milwaukee officials revealed on Monday, Jan. 21 that 1,900 citations were handed out Saturday night, Jan. 19 into Sunday morning. Another 2,300 citations were issued from Sunday night into Monday.

This, after several inches of snow fell in southeast Wisconsin, beginning Friday.



Officials also wanted to convey this message as it relates to parking in the city:

"Parked vehicles should not impede the flow of traffic in the travel lane. This includes both the streetcar route and other city roadways. If a vehicle cannot be properly parked flush to the curb and out of the flow of traffic, whether due to snow or otherwise, then we discourage individuals from parking in that particular spot. The City’s priority is to ensure safe conditions on the roadways for all users, and reserves the right to ticket and/or tow when an improperly parked vehicle disrupts the flow of traffic."


 

Meanwhile, the weekend snowstorm also led to some problems involving The Hop, Milwaukee's streetcar. The snow led some drivers to park close to the tracks. Some vehicles had to be towed.

"Want to stay flush to the curb, and behind the white line," said Brian DeNeve, spokesman for the City of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works.

That white line can be hard to find, especially when there are snow-related parking restrictions in place.

"It's very confusing I think. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to park left or right," said Tom Cogdall of the even/odd parking regulations over the weekend.



On Saturday night, drivers were required to park on the odd side of the street. On Sunday, only even-side parking was permitted overnight. Cogdall said he's not the only one who was apparently confused, with thousands of citations handed out.

"All those people are not stupid," said Cogdall.



"The thing is, the roads don't even get plowed. Everyone's getting tickets on their cars, but the plows aren't even coming through. It's frustrating," said Betsy Cogdall.



DPW officials said they're doing what they can to keep the streets clear this winter.

"While the snow duration may have stopped, we still had to deal with additional snow that caused us to go over some of the routes we already plowed," said DeNeve.

CLICK HERE for everything you need to know about winter parking in Milwaukee.