MILWAUKEE — Tens of thousands of Milwaukee drivers who have neglected several parking tickets are down to just a few days to pay up or potentially have their cars towed.
A two-month pause on parking violation tows is coming to an end, affecting drivers considered habitual parking violators.
Back in late October, 23,000 people with five or more unpaid parking tickets received a letter in the mail from the City of Milwaukee. The letter warned them for the first time they had 60 days to take care of the tickets, otherwise the next time they're caught parking illegally, their vehicle could be towed. That grace period expires in the new year.
Robbiel Stokes learned about the consequences the hard way when his car was towed.
"When we came home to a vehicle missing, we were like, somebody stole our car, what happened?" Stokes said.
After calling the police station, Stokes discovered his vehicle had been towed.
"It's a lot because you've got to come down here, pay the tickets, and also have somebody, actually pay somebody to come down here to bring you down here if you don't have an extra vehicle to get here to actually get your vehicle out," Stokes said.
Those who are considered habitual parking violators will once again face the same consequence.
Alderman Scott Spiker says the new system is an improvement because drivers now receive a warning letter, whereas before they received no notification ahead of time.
"They'll end up at the tow lot, they'll have to pay a $150 storage fee or towing fee, a $25 a day storage fee, and they'll either have to pay off their tickets or set up a municipal court date if they wish to have their car released," Spiker said. “There are options to get on a payment plan, so if you don’t have the money, you can set up a plan.”
Spiker says the new city ordinance closes a previous loophole that allowed habitual parking violators to simply pay the towing and storage fees to get their car out. Now, they also have to take care of the tickets.
"Some of those tickets build up because some people actually don't know," Stokes said.
Stokes believes the city should offer more flexibility.
"I think just give them a chance, see what their back-history is. Can they afford it? Give them a payment plan or something like that instead of just towing these cars for unpaid tickets. Give them a chance," Stokes said.
City data shows more than 4,000 cars were towed in Milwaukee for owners failing to pay parking tickets. The city spent $30,000 to mail the warning letters to help people avoid that consequence.
"I think this is a win-win situation," Spiker said.
There are multiple ways to pay for parking tickets in Milwaukee. The easiest is to go online. Drivers can also pay over the phone, by mail, or using kiosks located in all police district stations.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
