City of Prescott, WI Parking Regulations

The Common Council may designate certain streets or portions of streets as no parking or no stopping or standing zones or as zones for parking by physically handicapped persons and may limit the hours in which the restrictions apply. The City shall mark, by appropriate signs, each zone so designated in accordance with the provisions of § 349.13, Wis. Stats.

Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic control device, no person shall stop or park a vehicle in an established no stopping or standing zone when stopping or standing is prohibited. No vehicle shall be parked in a no parking zone during hours when parking is prohibited except physicians on emergency calls or as permitted by state law or elsewhere by this Code of Ordinances.

The Chief of Police is hereby granted the authority, within the reasonable exercise of police power to prohibit, limit the time or otherwise restrict the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles beyond the provisions of Ch. 346, Wis. Stats. The Common Council shall have the authority to restrict the turning or movement of heavy traffic and to impose special weight limitations on any highway or portions thereof which, because of the weakness of the roadbed due to deterioration or climatic conditions or other special or temporary conditions, would likely be seriously damaged or destroyed in the absence of any restrictions on heavy traffic movement or special weight limitations.

(4)

No prohibition, restriction or limitation on parking or restriction on movement or turning of heavy traffic and imposition of special weight limits is effective unless official traffic control devices have been placed or erected indicating the particular prohibition, restriction or limitation.

(5)

After the parking limitations on any given street have expired, any change of location of not more than one stall following expiration of the parking period allowed shall be and constitute a violation of this chapter.

(6)

When signs are erected in any block giving notice thereof, no person shall park a vehicle for longer than the time specified on the sign.

§ 545-14 Parking restrictions during temporary snow removal or street maintenance.

Street maintenance. Whenever it is necessary to clear or repair a City roadway or any part thereof, the Chief of Police and/or Director of Public Works shall post such highways or parts thereof with signs bearing the words "No Parking - Street Maintenance Work." Such signs shall be erected at least two hours prior to the time that street maintenance work is to be commenced. No person shall park a motor vehicle in violation of such signs.

Temporary parking restrictions for special events. Pursuant to the provisions of § 349.13, Wis. Stats., the Chief of Police is authorized to direct that temporary limited parking signs be erected during parades, festivals and other authorized events that require the regulating of vehicle stopping, standing or parking on City roadways. The temporary regulation shall be limited to the time the event exists or is likely to exist.

Parking during snow removal. From November 1 to April 1, no vehicle shall be parked on any City street which may interfere with the operation of any snow removal with the exception of Broad Street from Cherry Street to Kinnickinnic Street and Orange Street from Front Street to Dakota Street whereby snow removal on these streets will be from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Any such vehicle shall have a penalty enforced and may be removed by a contracted service. All fees shall be paid by the owner.

§ 545-15 Stopping or parking prohibited in certain specified places.

Parking prohibited at all times. Except temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading or in receiving or discharging passengers or property and while the vehicle is attended by a licensed operator so that it may be moved promptly in case of an emergency or to avoid obstruction of traffic, no person shall at any time park or leave standing any vehicle:

Within an intersection.

On a crosswalk.

On a sidewalk or terrace area, except when parking in such place is clearly indicated by official traffic signs or markers. "Sidewalk or terrace area" means that area between the sidewalk and the nearest curbline running parallel or generally parallel thereto or in the absence of a sidewalk 10 feet beyond the curbline.

(4)

Alongside or opposite any highway excavation or obstruction when such stopping or standing would obstruct traffic or when pedestrian traffic would be required to travel in the roadway.

(5)

On the roadway side of any parked vehicle unless double parking is clearly indicated by official traffic signs or markers.

(6)

Within a fire lane consisting of either the driveway between the front doors of a fire station and the public street or in such places properly designated and marked as fire lanes ordered by the Fire Chief.

(7)

Upon any portion of a highway where and at the time when stopping or standing is prohibited by official traffic signs indicating the prohibition of any stopping or standing.

(8)

In any place or manner so as to obstruct, block or impede traffic.

(9)

Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, unless a greater distance is indicated by an official traffic sign.

(10)

Upon any portion of a highway where and at the time when parking is prohibited, limited or restricted by official traffic signs.

(11)

Upon any bridge.

(12)

Upon any street or highway within the City limits, any vehicle which faces a direction different from the direction of normal traffic flow for the lane of traffic in which said vehicle is stopped or standing.

(13)

In a loading zone.

(14)

Within four feet of the entrance to an alley, private road or driveway.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

(15)

In any municipal park when said park is closed to the public.

Parking in driveways. No person shall park or leave standing any motor vehicle in any private driveway without the permission of the owner or lessee of the property which such driveway is located, whether or not such driveway is posted to limit or restrict parking.

Vehicles not to block private drive, alley or fire lane. No vehicle shall, at any time, be parked so as to unreasonably restrict the normal access to any private drive, alley or fire lane. Said access shall be deemed to be unreasonably restricted if any vehicle is parked within four feet of either side of said access. Upon discovery by a police officer or upon complaint by the owner of any such blocked drive, alley or fire lane, the Chief of Police may order said vehicle towed from such position at the risk and expense of the owner of said vehicle.

Parking vehicle for repair or to display for sale prohibited.

No person shall stand or park a vehicle on any street, alley, public right-of-way or municipal parking lot in the City of Prescott for the purpose of repairing said vehicle or to display such vehicle for sale. No person shall park on any street or avenue any vehicles for the primary purpose of advertising.

No person other than an owner and/or operator of a business located on business-zoned property engaged in the regular business of selling vehicles may display a vehicle for sale upon private premises unless the following conditions are met:

(a)

Consent to display the vehicle has been given by the owner or lessee of the premises; and

(b)

The owner of the vehicle is on the premises or resides there; and

(c)

The vehicle displayed for sale is parked entirely on the premises; and

(d)

The premises contains only one vehicle displayed for sale; and

(e)

The advertisement or sign for sale of the vehicle is not larger than two square feet.

No parking areas. The Common Council shall have the power to determine and mark those portions of the streets within the City within which no vehicle shall be parked and may designate such no parking limits by a suitable sign indicating the limits within which no parking is to be allowed; and when any street or portion of street is so set off and designated by the sign "No Parking," then no person shall park any vehicle within such prohibited area.

§ 545-16 Parking reserved for vehicles of disabled.

When official traffic signs indicating such restriction have been erected in accordance with § 545-3 of this chapter, no person shall park, stop or leave standing any vehicle upon any portion of a street, highway or public or private parking facility reserved for vehicles displaying special registration plates or identification cards or emblems issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation or, for vehicles registered in another jurisdiction, by such other jurisdiction designating the vehicle as one used by a physically disabled person.

§ 545-17 Leaving keys in vehicle prohibited; parking vehicles with motor running.

Leaving keys in vehicle. No person shall permit any motor vehicle to stand or remain unattended on any street, alley or other public area, except an attended parking area, unless either the starting lever, throttle, steering apparatus, gear shift or ignition of the vehicle is locked and the key for such lock is removed from the vehicle. Whenever any police officer shall find any vehicle standing with the key in the ignition in violation of this section, such officer is authorized to remove such key from the vehicle and deliver the key to the Police Department for safe custody.

Parking vehicles with motor running. No person shall park or leave standing any motor vehicle with the motor or refrigerator unit running for more than 30 minutes within 300 feet of any residence within the City of Prescott between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

§ 545-18 Unattended motorized machinery.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to permit any construction, compaction, earth-grading or farm machinery which is self propelled and moves upon the surface of the earth and which is owned or controlled by him to stand for any period of time unattended without locking the ignition system or otherwise rendering said machinery inoperable so as to prevent any person unauthorized by the owner or individual in control thereof from starting said machinery.

§ 545-19 Parking prohibited during certain periods.

[Amended 7-12-2010 by Ord. No. 08-10]

Two-hour parking: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. When signs are erected in any block giving notice thereof, no person shall park a vehicle for longer than two hours at any time between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., except weekends and legal holidays, upon the following streets or portions of streets:

Broad Street between Cherry Street and Kinnickinnic Street.

Orange Street between Front Street and Dakota Street.

Parking near mailboxes. Parking within 10 feet of any mailbox erected independently of a building shall not be permitted between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., except on Sundays or holidays.

Three-hour parking. When signs are erected in any block giving notice thereof, no person shall park a vehicle for longer than three hours in the following locations:

Old Bridge entrance.

Mercord Mill Park.

Front Street (excluding signed no parking zones); Avenue of Flags.

(4)

Borner Street between St. Croix and James Street.

No parking: school zones. There shall be no parking when school is in session between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the following locations:

Monroe Street from St. Croix Street to Walnut Street.

St. Croix Street from Campbell Street to Borner Street to the driveway between the bus garage and the high school.

Public boat launch parking lot. No parking allowed at public boat launch between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. of each day. A paid daily permit from the City must be displayed on the dash of the driver's side of the vehicle or a current year boat launch sticker attached to the trailer. Any owner or operator failing to pay or display the required fee shall be subject to a forfeiture as provided in § 1-4.

[Amended 9-25-2017 by Ord. No. 06-17; 7-23-2018 by Ord. No. 03-18]

Parking during street cleaning. No person shall park any vehicle on any street or highway as to interfere with regular street cleaning. Such areas shall be designated by no parking signs identifying the time and date of said cleaning.

Removal or illegal parked vehicles. The Director of Public Works or Chief of Police may have any vehicle parked contrary to this section removed at the expense of the owner.

Fifteen-minute parking: Broad Street. Four parking stalls on Broad Street shall be designed as fifteen-minute parking between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

§ 545-20 Parking of vehicles over 15,000 pounds or 22 feet restricted.

Street parking. No person owning or having control of truck, trailer, truck power unit, tractor, bus, recreation vehicle, or trailers (including snowmobile and boat trailers) or combination of vehicles weighing in excess of 15,000 pounds gross weight, or over 22 feet in length (including accessories, racks, or other physical extensions), or having a height of more than eight feet from the roadway, shall park the same upon any street, avenue, or public way in the City between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. One-hour parking will be allowed between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The provisions of this subsection shall not be deemed to prohibit the lawful temporary parking of such equipment upon any street, avenue or public way in the City for the actual loading or unloading of goods, ware or merchandise; providing, however, the "loading" and "unloading," as used in this section, shall be limited to the actual time consumed in such operation. The Common Council may, however, designate specific truck parking zones.

Bus parking. No operator of a school bus or other bus, regardless of its size, shall park such vehicle in any residential district, on the street, on a lawn, in the alley, in a driveway or anywhere else, except for such time as is reasonably necessary to facilitate the loading or unloading of the vehicle, except that school buses may park at any school when required.

Specific truck parking. No person shall park a truck, being classified as one ton or larger or any other vehicle having an overall length of 19 feet or more, on Broad Street between Cherry Street and Walnut Street.

Removal. Any vehicle unlawfully parked under Subsection A, B or C above may be removed from the street by order of a law enforcement officer, pursuant to § 545-23, and the expense of so moving and storing such vehicle shall be paid by the operator or owner of said vehicle as a forfeiture in addition to the penalties hereafter prescribed.

§ 545-21 Unlawful removal of parking citations.

No person other than the owner or operator thereof shall remove a City notice of parking violation or other parking citation from a motor vehicle.

§ 545-22 Operation of motor vehicles in public parking lots.

Unlicensed operators prohibited. No person who does not hold a valid operator's license shall operate a vehicle in any public parking lot or in any private parking lot held out for the use of parking for the general public.

Traffic regulations applicable. All provisions of § 545-1 of this chapter and of the Wisconsin Statutes and laws incorporated herein by reference shall be applicable on any public parking lot and on any private parking lot or road held out for use for the general public for parking or vehicular traffic.

§ 545-23 Removal of illegally parked vehicles.

Hazard to public safety. Any vehicle parked, stopped or standing upon a highway or public parking lot or ramp in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is declared to be a hazard to traffic and public safety.

Removal by operator. Such vehicle shall be removed by the operator in charge, upon request of any law enforcement officer, to a position where parking is permitted or to a private or public parking or storage premises.

Removal by traffic officer. Any law enforcement officer, after issuing a notice of parking violation for illegal parking, stopping or standing of an unattended vehicle in violation of this chapter, is authorized to remove such vehicle to a position where parking is permitted.

Removal by private service. Any law enforcement officer may order a motor carrier holding a permit to perform vehicle towing services, a licensed motor vehicle salvage dealer or a licensed motor vehicle dealer who performs vehicle towing services to remove and store such vehicle in any public storage garage or rental parking grounds or any facility of the person providing the towing services.

Towing and storage charges. In addition to other penalties provided in this chapter, the owner or operator of a vehicle so removed shall pay the actual cost of moving, towing and storage. If the vehicle is towed or stored by a private motor carrier, motor vehicle salvage dealer or licensed motor vehicle dealer, actual charges regularly paid for such services shall be paid. If the vehicle is stored in a public storage garage or rental facility, customary charges for such storage shall be paid. Upon payment, a receipt shall be issued to the owner of the vehicle for the towing or storage charge.

§ 545-24 Traffic and parking regulations on school district grounds.

Pursuant to the provisions of § 118.105, Wis. Stats., the following regulations shall apply to the grounds of the Prescott School District located within the City:

Speed limit. No person shall operate a motor vehicle on school premises where motor vehicle traffic is permitted at a speed in excess of 15 miles per hour.

State traffic forfeiture laws adopted. All provisions of Chapters 340 to 349 of the Wisconsin Statutes describing and defining regulations with respect to vehicles and traffic for which the penalty is a forfeiture only, including penalties to be imposed and procedures for prosecution, are hereby adopted and by reference made a part of this section as if fully set forth herein. Any act required to be performed or prohibited by any statute incorporated herein by reference is required or prohibited by this section.

[Amended 5-29-2012 by Ord. No. 08-12]

Miscellaneous rules.

[Amended 10-14-2019 by Ord. No. 06-19]

No person shall operate a motor vehicle on such school premises at a rapid or sudden acceleration with the intent of squealing tires or leaving tire marks.

No person shall operate a motor vehicle on such premises across parking lot islands or parking lot dividers.