Seriously. A third night of Snow Emergency. Here’s a real life story about what this means to park downtown in Madison. Exhibit A, if you will, on why living and parking downtown is such a headache. People who hate cars and think I shouldn’t drive one, please don’t read. Or don’t complain.
EXHIBIT A: DOWNTOWN MADISON PARKING HEADACHES
Ok, so why do I care so much about this? Yes, I own a car. And I live downtown.
I live three blocks to the east of the capital. One of the worst parking areas in the city. Rob and I have one off street parking space. It’s in a tiny garage that my car didn’t fit in and if you park in there only one person can get out of the car. So, Rob parks there because he often has sound gear of some sort in his car and its safer. (Also, yes, we have two cars. Rob works in Middleton. I’m often out late and carry a fair amount of equipment with me.)
I compensate by parking on the street. That means that I need a special sticker (RP3) to park on my street for more than two hours. I can only park in a tiny 12-14 block area. I think they give out like 4 stickers for every spot – so its really a hunting permit. If I park on the other side of E. Washington where there are parking spaces, I can’t park there more than 2 hours during the day and have to move my car by 10am.
Additionally, from 8 – noon every Thursday you can’t park on one side of the street (even). And, from 8 – noon every Friday you can’t park on the other side of the street (odd). The initial reason for this was street sweeping. I should note here that other areas don’t have the morning 8 – noon restrictions for 4 hours at a time. Other areas have 3 hours. Some have the restrictions in the afternoons as well. Also, other areas aren’t year round. They are only restricted May 1 – Nov. 1.
Because I often can’t find parking and it worked out well, I pay $65 a month to park in the parking ramp at night. When I was working it worked out well because I got home late and left and only paid $1-3 additional to park there. Now that I’m not working, well I have to wake up just to move more car or be lazy and pay $1.20 an hour for my laziness.
When parking, I always look for a street parking space first, so I don’t have to pay the additional money or get up early to move my car. Last night I came home and I looked for a “Friday” parking spot, so I wouldn’t have to move my car on at 8am on Thursday. I quickly realized that the “Friday” parking spots were the “snow emergency” spaces. I couldn’t have parked there even if I wanted to because the snow hadn’t been removed and there were huge rows of snow where the plow had been. I couldn’t find any spots that would allow me to park on the street until 8am in the morning, so I parked in the garage.
So, in the morning I wanted to get out of the garage so I wasn’t paying $1.20 an hour to park there. I got out, and parked on the “Friday” side of the street. At noon, I went out and moved my car to the “Thursday” side of the street.
Unfortunately, they’ve called a snow emergency again, which means before 1am tonight, I have to move my car again. Either to the other side of the street where I have to move it by 8am tomorrow morning, or back to the ramp. Either way, to avoid paying $1.20 per hour, I will have to get up in the morning solely to move my car, again.
In less than 48 hours, I will have had to park and re-park my car 5 times because the snow emergency is not coordinated with the street sweeping restrictions. And I pay a minimum of $70 a month for this pleasure which requires an annual parking sticker and a garage ramp pass.
ONE MORE NIGHT OF SNOW EMERGENCY
Snow Emergency Extended Until 7:00 a.m. February 15
A snow emergency remains in effect for the entire City of Madison until at least 7 a.m. Thursday, February 15, 2019.
Alternate side parking restrictions are in effect again tonight for the entire city of Madison, including the Snow Emergency Zone.
The Streets Division asks that people choose off-street parking options for their vehicles again this evening, especially those within the Snow Emergency Zone. If an off-street parking option is not available, you must abide by alternate side parking rules.
Streets Division crews will be working throughout the day and night to plow areas that had been blocked by parked cars and other obstructions.
Parking on the Street Tonight (Thursday, February 14 into the morning of Friday, February 15)
Vehicles parked on the street tonight (the evening on February 14 into the early morning of February 15) should be on the ODD house-numbered side of the street between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.
Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $60 throughout the entire City of Madison.
Violators of alternate side parking rules may also be towed. If a vehicle is towed, an additional towing fee will be added to the parking ticket.
Other Parking Information
Residents are reminded that all daytime parking restrictions will be enforced. That includes restrictions that ban parking on selected blocks in the downtown area and on the near east and near west sides. Parkers should pay attention to all parking signs.
Parking will be available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared snow emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. If you enter before 9 p.m. or leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges before 9 p.m. and from 7 a.m. until the time you leave.
When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Parking is also available at the Brittingham Park Shelter parking lot off of W. Washington Ave.
More Information
Additional information about winter plowing and parking can be found on the city of Madison winter website, www.cityofmadison.com/winter. Parking information can also be heard by calling the winter parking hotline at 608-261-9111.
THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO HARD
Here’s my thoughts about what could be different and make our lives easier:
We shouldn’t need three nights of a snow emergency if they towed the cars.
The city could move our street sweeping restrictions to 10-noon.
The city could not have the street sweeping restrictions November 1 – May 1.
The city could stop issuing RP3 permits after they have a ratio of 1 spot for every three stickers.
The city could make our RP3 area larger and include the other side of E Washington Ave.
The city could coordinate the street sweeping and snow emergency restrictions so if you park on the odd/even sides for the snow restrictions, the street sweeping restrictions coincided with the morning parking restrictions.
On the other hand, I suspect that the city likes it this way for the parking revenue! Confusing rules means more tickets and more money for the city.
