City Overhauling Night Parking Permits

Parking enforcement. Photo by Michael Horne.

The City of Milwaukee is poised to make it easier in three ways to park on city streets overnight. The Department of Public Works (DPW) will make all permits valid for a rolling period based on the purchase date, start using push notifications to notify customers of expirations and add a daily permit.

“This is an update and improvement to the system we have now,” said Alderman Jonathan Brostoff when the Public Safety & Health Committee reviewed the proposal on Feb. 16. “It affords more opportunities that are more friendly to our residents.”

Currently, anyone seeking to park overnight on a city street must pay $55 per year or $20 for four months. But the periods are fixed; a late start sees no discount.

“That is the most prominent complaint we have received by far,” said parking services manager Thomas Woznick of the timing issue.

With prior registration, any motor vehicle is currently able to be parked for free for three nights in a 30-day period. But additional nights require the $20 permit regardless of when in the four-month window it’s needed. No registration is required from Saturday night into Sunday night (the overnight enforcement period runs from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.), a policy which would remain.

The city will now add a $1 daily option to address those needing additional short-term parking.

DPW will also add a $5 weekly permit, $10 monthly permit, $20 four-month permit and $55 annual permit. All four permits will run from the purchase date to their scheduled expiration.

Additionally, those with a permit will start getting a notification that their permit will expire. Permits can be purchased online, in person at the city tow lot or any police station or over an interactive phone voice system.

“This will enhance the experience for our customers, making it easier and more convenient for them to purchase permits and access them and get notifications when they expire,” said Woznick.

The council unanimously approved the changes on Tuesday.

The new policies are expected to go into effect on April 30, at the end of the current period.

The city, according to its budget, expects to collect $3.94 million from parking permit revenue in 2023.

“We think this will increase revenue,” said Woznick of the change. He said that’s because it will encourage more people to purchase permits instead of hoping to avoid enforcement. The city parking manager said DPW is working to restore its parking enforcement personnel levels to pre-pandemic levels. Woznick said the city has only collected $3.5 million in recent years. “People are just taking their chances.”

The city is budgeted to collect $15 million in citations in 2023.

Brostoff said he hoped the policy will reduce staff-resident conflicts stemming from parking citations or confusion with the process. “I think there is some additional benefit in that area to the staff,” said the alderman.

Ald. Scott Spiker said he hoped the city could find a way to reduce the number of people calling the city customer service center to have their vehicle entered for one night. Woznick said 80% of daily submissions have been done on the city website in recent years. But even with that, he said the city still sees approximately 20,000 to 25,000 calls per year for parking registration.

The city works with Duncan Solutions, Inc. on parking permit sales and citation payments.

The proposal was co-sponsored by council members Marina Dimitrijevic, Mark Borkowski and Mark Chambers, Jr.