DNA Milwaukee Spearheads “FREE” Parking Stickers for Weekend Downtown Parking Signage
The challenge: Although parking is free on Saturdays in two‐hour time zones and all day on Sundays, parking signs do not clearly convey this message.
Parking Sign with ‘FREE’ Sticker. Photo courtesy of the DNA.
Milwaukee, WI— The Downtown Neighbors Association of Milwaukee (DNA MKE) is spearheading an initiative to make downtown metered parking less confusing on the weekends, as a response to DNA MKE member feedback.
The challenge: Although parking is free on Saturdays in two‐hour time zones and all day on Sundays, parking signs do not clearly convey this message. That means many people unnecessarily feed parking meters fearing a parking ticket. Worse yet, others avoid coming downtown altogether.
The solution: DNA‐MKE, in partnership with the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works, has designed and produced 2,000 stickers that read “FREE”, which the City has installed on parking signs throughout the downtown area to clarify that there is no charge for metered, on‐street parking on Saturdays.
“My wife and I often walk downtown. On Saturdays, it’s impossible not to see people putting money into parking meters or staring at the signs trying to figure out if they should. With this simple change, residents, business patrons and all downtown visitors will now know that parking on Saturday is free. That’s another good reason to spend some time downtown,” said Claude Krawczyk, DNA MKE President.
“When DNA‐MKE neighbors talked to me about this idea, I thought it made a lot of sense,” said 4th District Ald. Robert Bauman. “I have frequently seen downtown visitors plug meters on Saturdays when they did not have to do so. I took the ‘FREE stickers’ idea to DPW and encouraged them to implement this project. I am pleased that this public‐private collaboration has come to pass, and I’m confident that this solution will mean less parking confusion and more ‘free’ downtown visits.”
The Downtown Neighbors Association of Milwaukee, Inc. is a membership organization of residents working with business representatives in downtown Milwaukee’s three neighborhoods: East Town, Westown, and the Historic Third Ward. DNA MKE provides a unified voice to for residents to present another side to an ever‐evolving story of Downtown Milwaukee. See www.dnamke.org for more information.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
