More changes needed to alternate-side parking rules

It is November already, and for some area communities that means the start of alternate side parking season. That is no longer the case in La Crosse, which thanks to recent changes no longer begins writing tickets for parking on the wrong side of the street on November first. Instead, city code says alternate side parking begins November 15, but only if the city has two inches of snow on the ground by then. The rules expire on March 15. Many complain about the rules, but not that long ago, back in the 1990’s, alternate side parking season began on November 1, and didn’t end until the end of April. Some have called for the city to do away with alternate side parking rules altogether, instead implementing rules that require people to move their cars only when the plows need to come through. The city tried that in an experiment near the university, but turns out few people moved their cars when told to do so. The part of alternate side parking I would like to see changed is that if we move our cars to the proper side of the street, that plow trucks then plow the clear side of the street, and return the following morning to do the other side when the cars are moved again. As it is now, many have to dig out their cars when they are plowed in even when they follow the rules. La Crosse has made progress in tweaking its parking rules, but those rules could use a little more tweaking.