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As absurd as March snow

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Also by Mark A. Baumgardner:

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by Mark A. Baumgardner

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

Today marks the first day of December, the month in which winter weather often arrives in Madison. For many students, the biggest nuisance of the season is not walking to class in the occasional snow and frigid temperatures, but rather, the nightly endeavor of finding overnight street parking in neighborhoods near campus, regardless of weather conditions.

Special parking ordinances take effect within the City of Madison during the winter months with the stated purpose of providing more efficiency in the snow removal process and other street maintenance. The City of Madison has two sets of rules that address these winter street maintenance issues.

All streets between Park and Proudfit Streets on the south and west to Thornton Avenue and the Yahara River on the north and between Lake Monona to Lake Mendota lie in the “Downtown-Isthmus Snow Emergency Zone,” having different regulations than streets outside this zone. For most students, Park Street is the important boundary to know.

East of Park Street, one must park on the odd house numbered side of the street between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. on odd numbered days and, likewise, on the even house numbered side of the street between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. on even numbered days; this applies only when the City of Madison officially declares a snow emergency following a snowstorm. Streets in which parking is allowed only on one side at all times are exceptions. Citations issued for infractions cost $20.

West of Park Street, much more restrictive regulations exist. Those parking overnight on the street must follow the same snow emergency regulations, but they apply every single day between November 15 and March 15. In other words, the temperature could reach 70 degrees during the day March 14, but the snow emergency regulations still apply west of Park Street. These citations cost $10.

Most municipalities in Wisconsin have similar snow emergency ordinances in place, and some suburban districts with a driveway and garage at every house ban overnight parking altogether during particular hours. However, most municipalities do not enact such ordinances without regard to potential parking hassles, and instead, will balance the needs of residents with public works departments.

In eliminating nearly half of the already scarce street parking west of Park Street for four months of the year, students living in these more heavily populated neighborhoods could legitimately ask whether this balance is achieved. Besides the inconvenience and sprawl, this also creates potential safety issues as students walk further from their vehicles in the dark.

Even in Wisconsin, large snowfalls do not occur every day or even half of the days during the four-month period. Nor is it impossible for winter storms to occur outside of the November 15 to March 15 period. For example, some of you may recall the major snowstorm that struck Madison April 7, 2003. Although surprising and outside of the four month period, public works officials still managed to clear the roads.

During the past few winter seasons, city officials have only declared a small number of snow emergencies. In 2002, during one winter storm that prompted a declaration, this newspaper reported that Madison police officers issued approximately 1,000 parking citations to cars in violation of parking ordinances.

In this same story, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, commented on complaints he receives. “I hope no one thinks we do this to make money,” Verveer said. “We do it to enforce parking compliance.” While nobody should quarrel with legitimate efforts to clear the streets after snowstorms, one has to wonder whether other motives exist when so many other citations are issued (west of Park Street) even with little or no threat of snow.

Presumably, the City of Madison has enacted different, less restrictive regulations in neighborhoods near downtown in consideration of congestion in that area. As this same congestion exists in many other student neighborhoods, city officials should expand the less restrictive regulations to those streets.

Mark A. Baumgardner (mbaumgardner@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in electrical engineering.

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Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 10:23am):

Sure, they don't do any of their parking regulations to make money. Then why don't they combine some of the parking sections? For example, the section from park to randall and university to regent does not have anywhere near enough parking, while if you go south from regent street there is ample parking. If you are telling me that isn't there to issue additional tickets, you are taking me for a fool.

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 10:43am):

Yes the alternate side parking everyday sucks, but the nice thing is it allows the plows to go through the neighborhood a second time. When it first snows they clear the center of the road and the empty side of the street. The next day when all the cars have been moved they plow the side that was unable to be plowed before.

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 12:20pm):

So why is alternate-side parking in effect 24-7 for a certain area but not the other? Did you think to ask the city?

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 1:59pm):

Thank God I don't drive!

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 4:18pm):

Madison actively tries to discourage students from owning vehicles. This is just another example of it. Just be thankful they haven't hired the Earth Day tire slashers as full-time employees yet.

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 4:47pm):

Yeah I bet the city would love to slash your tires so you would get rid of your car.
I am sure they have even thought of fire bombing your car too.
If you have a problem with a lack of parking where you live, move. Just because you bought a permit does not mean you get a spot on the street. Having a car is a luxury. Convenient parking is not a right.

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 5:01pm):

You know, after living here in Madison a couple of years. I decided that having a car while attending UW-Madison is just a big waste of time. All things considered, it's much cheaper to just take the bus or a taxi. I'm saving a bundle in money and headaches!

Face it, we're college students. The cost of my B.S. in biology is gonna cost almost twice as much as my oldest sister's degree in Music Education eight years ago. Why make it harder on ourselves? Unless you absolutely, positively need a car, don't bother. I've got more money to spend on myself on things like better dinnerware, an espresso machine, a French tic-uh, never mind!

Anonymous (December 1, 2004 @ 5:03pm):

Oh, I almost forgot-Mark Baumgardner, you and Rob Deters are hot-looking couple of guys. I'll be at the Kollege Klub with my roommates Friday night. See ya there?