Don’t join the 1,000-plus club; follow parking rules

• Odd/even parking in effect

Odd/even parking in effect

Talk about it

Police Chief Roger Leque hopes greater public awareness will take the air out of these ballooning numbers:

• More than 800 tickets for violating the city’s odd/even winter parking restrictions.

• More than 100 tickets for violating overnight 1-6 a.m. parking restrictions.

• About 100 tickets for violating overnight 2:30-6 a.m. parking restrictions.

Leque said all these $10 tickets have been issued since Nov. 1.

In addition, during last month’s snowstorm, 51 illegally parked vehicles were towed to the city impound lot.

Tows and tickets are a pricey mix and can tally $200.

“We would like to minimize the magnitude of the problem,” Leque said. “It’s costly and inconvenient for everyone concerned.”

Leque said the pace of winter-related parking tickets for 2011 -- while seemingly high -- is typical.

Leque said parking tickets aren’t a revenue raiser for the city. He said the aim, especially in winter, is to keep streets open for snow plows.

Vehicles left illegally parked during a storm hinder snowplowing crews. They can’t completely clear streets.

That creates inefficiencies and travel hazards since plows must return again to finish. Meanwhile, drivers must navigate streets with patches of unplowed snow and untreated ice.

Leque said the writing/processing of tickets and the towing of parking violators to the impound lot is “time intensive.”

“It interferes with the ability of the street department to plow snow,” he said. “It also costs more because crews have to come back and replow.”

Leque added that the towing is also an “unpleasant, costly experience for drivers.”

There’s a twofold solution to avoid this experience:

1) Pay attention to where overnight parking restriction signs are posted.

2) Keep in mind that odd/even parking runs from Nov. 1 to March 31.

Odd/even works like this:

• Park on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd dates.

• Park on the even-numbered side of the street on even dates.
  • Park according to the date after midnight.

  Leque encouraged anyone with parking questions to call the police department at 715-425-0909.

  “Please try to understand these rules,” he said. “We want to keep the streets safe and avoid the hassle of issuing so many tickets.”

  Tags: river falls, wisconsin, courts, travel

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