University of Wisconsin Transportation Services has started to enforce winter transportation procedures, which will remain in place from Nov. 15 until April 15.

UW Transportation Services requires that no motor vehicles be parked on Observatory or Linden Drive and that vehicles can only park in rows designated with “Shovelin’ Bucky” signs in select campus lots, according to the UW Transportation Services winter parking rules. The top level of on-campus parking ramps may also become blocked off to improve snow removal procedures.

Parking rules will be enforced between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. and apply to all students looking to park on campus regardless of weather conditions.

All winter parking rules are designed to allow UW to remove snow overnight, UW Transportation Services Marketing Specialist Lauren Hawley said.

“Most of the time snow removal happens overnight, and that is to minimize interference with daytime activity on campus,” Hawley said. “Campus [snow] removal operations include clearing sidewalks, bike paths, bus shelters, parking lots and roads so anything within the boundary of our campus.”

UW parking guidelines are distinct from the City of Madison guidelines which require alternate side parking, Hawley said. Students parking off-campus must park on the even house-numbered side of the street on even dates and vice versa from Nov. 15 to March 15 between the hours of  1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

But, Madison residents who are parking in the Snow Emergency Zone, which encompasses most of the downtown isthmus area, do not have to follow alternate parking rules unless the city declares a snow emergency.

Hawley said because of parking restrictions, compounded with limited space, students are encouraged to utilize alternative modes of transportation. Hawley said due to the geographic makeup of downtown Madison, increased parking infrastructure is difficult to create.

“Limited parking has been a fact of life on our campus since 1924. Our campus is situated on an isthmus next to two lakes so there is just limited space available to build new parking facilities,” Hawley said. “Because of that we encourage everyone to use alternate transportation to get to and around campus.”

Students have free access to routes 81, 82 and 84 of the Madison Metro Transit bus system through ASM, which could be a viable alternative to on-campus parking, Hawley said.