Grab Your Quarters, Parking Meter Regulations Restored

The Department of Public Works began phasing in parking regulations on Monday, June 15th. The department’s parking division is again assessing resumed enforcement of fees and regulations at the approximately 7,000 parking meters across the city.

“As more and more businesses have been reopening, the need for turnover in parking locations has increased,” wrote the department in a press release.

Meters can be paid with coins, credit cards and the city’s third-party smartphone application.

DPW suspended many city parking rules on March 19th in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing travel patterns.

And while drivers again need to feed the meter, primarily Downtown and in other commercial corridors, many parking regulations on residential side streets remain suspended.

Daytime parking permits, including those for commuter-impacted areas like the streets surrounding UW-Milwaukee and resident-only parking permits, will still not be necessary. Alternate side of the street parking will not be required.

Night parking regulations, including the need for an overnight permit, remain suspended.

DPW said a final date for phasing in all regulations has yet to be determined.

Regardless of what happens with regard to commuting and the pandemic, the city is likely to need to phase in alternate side of the street parking as part of the department’s snow plowing strategy.

Parking operations is a sizable operation in the city. DPW’s parking and tow lot division is budgeted to have 124 employees, including 58 parking enforcement officers (commonly called “parking checkers”).

The city had budgeted to derive approximately $4.85 million from parking permits and $5.18 million from parking meters this year. Towing and disposing of unclaimed vehicles was expected to net an additional $5.7 million. Parking citations were budgeted to bring in $16.2 million, an increase from $15 million in 2019.