Winter is coming. Here's how to park overnight on Madison streets

Friday marks the beginning of Madison's winter parking rules, known as alternate side parking . Here are some common questions and answers about what it is and what it requires.

What is alternate side parking?

It's an approach to parking on the street overnight during the winter, especially in the Downtown area, that's meant to give snowplows enough space to remove snow.

What does it require?

Drivers outside of the central city must park on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered days between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. every day of the week, and on the even-numbered side of the street on even-numbered days between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. every day of the week — whether or not there's snow on the street or falling from the sky. The rules are in effect from Nov. 15 to March 15. They do not apply on streets where parking is always restricted to one side of the street for the entire block.

In practice, this means that most people who park on the street overnight need to think about the next day's date when they leave their vehicles for the night — because that's the date that will apply for the purposes of the rule.

What about drivers in the central city?

Same thing, but only during declared snow emergencies — i.e., when 3 or more inches of snow is on the streets. In the absence of a snow emergency, drivers can park overnight on either side of the street.

What counts as the "central city"?

Known as the Snow Emergency Zone, it's roughly the area between Lake Mendota on the north and Lakes Monona and Wingra on the south, Franklin Avenue on the west and Starkweather Creek on the east.

And if you break the rule?

Tickets for not parking on the correct side of the street are $20 but shoot up to $60 if you violate the rule during a declared snow emergency.

How strictly is it enforced?

City Parking Enforcement issued 7,385 tickets for alternate side parking violations last winter, as well as 952 for violations of the rule during snow emergencies. That's up from the COVID-19 era, when the city largely curtailed parking and traffic enforcement, but down from a decade ago, when more than 27,000 tickets were issued.

City Parking Division Manager Stefanie Cox said earlier this year that due to staffing changes and changes in the way the city enforces the rule, she doesn't expect to see ticket numbers as high as a decade ago because the city will prioritize enforcement when there is snow falling or on the ground.

How does Madison keep roads clear during snow storms? When a snow storm hits, Madison agencies, including Streets, Parks and Engineering, have a fleet of nearly 140 pieces of winter weather equipment and a detailed plan to cover the entire city.

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