Already 10 snow emergencies deep this winter, city officials
set a date to discuss increasing the price of parking citations during snow
emergencies at the Board of Estimates meeting Monday.

The proposal on the table to increase citations from $30 to
$60 for cars parked downtown was referred for discussion to a meeting Feb. 29.
The handful of alders who sat on the board said a discussion about an increase
should be open to all alders, so the city can move in the right direction to
communicate policy changes to the public.

?People have told us that since the fines are so low, people
have little incentive to move their cars,? said Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, in
a phone interview.

Failure to comply with snow emergency alternate side parking
rules prompted Mayor Dave Cieslewicz to consider increasing the fines, he said,
adding more people heeded rules during early February?s snowstorm than the ice
storm last weekend.

According to streets superintendent Al Schumacher, parking
officials issued 380 parking citations last weekend, compared to past snow
emergencies when the number reached 886, according to George Dreckmann,
spokesperson for the streets division.

?Compliance hasn?t been good with snow emergency regulation
for the most part, which makes it difficult to plow and much harder for
everyone to get around on the streets,? said George Twigg, spokesperson for
Cieslewicz.

Overnight alternate side parking rules go into effect during
snow emergencies ? park on the even side of the street on even-numbered days
and odd side of the street on odd-numbered days ? and according to Michael May,
attorney for the city of Madison, ?anytime people are in violation of the
parking code we have the right to tow.?

If, after a 48-hour notice, a car on the street is still
parked and blocking the path of emergency vehicles and other vehicles,
Schumacher said the city starts towing cars, saving the streets division a lot
of snow removal work in weeks after the storm.

As there is no towing criterion in writing yet, Schumacher
said the decision about whether or not to tow is visual. The city charges $30
for the parking ticket and $50 for towing fees.

Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, asked how the city will
notify people downtown if they break the parking rules.

To increase awareness among the student population about
snow emergencies, Judge said he created a Facebook group that already has a few
hundred members.

?One of the many things I?ve been trying to tackle is that
it?s very difficult to get the message out to the student population,
especially about mundane things such as the streets,? Judge said.

Twigg said the city is talking with University of Wisconsin
administrators to let students know about parking rules via e-mails or text
messages. Currently, UW posts snow emergency information on the My UW Portal
home screen.

The city provides information about snow emergencies on the
city of Madison website and a telephone hotline, and residents can sign up for
a mass e-mail about snow emergencies, Dreckmann said.

If passed, the $30 increase in fine would be implemented
next winter.

?

? Taylor Cox contributed to this story.