If you want to park on Port streets in winter, fill out a form

Port Washington residents and visitors accustomed to calling the police department for permission to park on the city’s streets overnight during the winter won’t be able to do that anymore.

When winter parking begins on Monday, Dec. 1, drivers seeking to park on city streets between 2 and 6 a.m. will have to fill out an online form to request permission.

The form, which is available at www.portwashingtonwi.gov/departments/winterparking, must be submitted by 10 p.m., and people will only be granted permission to park overnight eight times during the winter parking season, which runs from Dec. 1 to April 1.

If the online form isn’t available, that means no one will be granted permission to park overnight, probably due to weather conditions, according to police.

“There’s not a change in the rules; it’s a change in how we implement the rules,” Capt. Craig Czarnecki said.

Czarnecki said the change was prompted by a request from the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, which handles dispatching for virtually every law enforcement agency in the county.

“They told us the dispatchers were getting overwhelmed by requests (for overnight parking),” Czarnecki said. 

While some departments are allowing people to park on the street unless it is expected to snow, Czarnecki said Port’s process is easier in terms of enforcement.

“Our experience is when we do that (allow people to park), they get used to parking out there,” he said, and when it snows more vehicles remain on the streets, where plows need to work to avoid them.

He noted that the department typically gives a blanket approval for overnight parking over the holidays, weather permitting, when most people seek permission.

Those who park on the street without permission may receive a $25 parking ticket.

Czarnecki noted that the department typically issues warnings for the first few days of the season, sometimes writing as many as 300 on the first night.

“We try to educate you first,” he said. “We’d rather see compliance than tickets.”