First heavy snow of season in La Crosse brings alternate-side parking

La Crosse police have declared the start of alternate-side parking for the winter, following the snowstorm which moved through the area on Friday and overnight.

That means on Saturday night, drivers who park on the curb in La Crosse will have to be on the even side, because Sunday is Dec. 12. They’ll need to switch to the odd side on Sunday night for the overnight hours when snowplows go out.

After last winter, when little snow fell before Christmas, the city changed the winter parking rules, so that odd-even parking would not begin until after the first 2-inch snowfall.

Much of the immediate La Crosse area reported 5 to 6 inches of snow before the storm ended. Before Friday, early season snowfalls in La Crosse left less than 1 inch on the ground.

The new parking rules replace the city’s previous policy of starting alternate-side parking on Nov. 15 even if no snow had fallen by that date.

The seasonal parking rules will now remain in effect until March 15.

Snow levels from this storm have been reported as high as 21 inches in St. Paul.