Odd-even parking change passed by La Crosse Council; climate emergency call delayed for more work

A long-time topic of dispute in La Crosse gets a major change, with no debate at all by the city council. 

The council voted Thursday night to limit alternate-side parking in the winter just to those occasions when La Crosse gets a couple inches or more of snow.  The odd-even rules would then go into effect for 48 hours. 

The measure passed without debate as part of a group of items on the consent agenda. 

This would end the decades-old practice in La Crosse of imposing odd-even parking every night over a period of several months in the winter, even when snow has not fallen.

In other action on Thursday, city council members voted to turn down a resolution declaring a “climate emergency.”  But the point of this vote was not a comment on the condition of the climate. 

Actually, the “no” vote was designed to change the resolution to something less controversial, according to council member Mackenzie Mindel.

“Some of the feedback we received was that the words used were potentially divisive, too strong, or confusing, so the item was referred,” said Mindel.

The intent of the resolution is to have La Crosse commit to reducing the use of fossil fuel, and becoming carbon-neutral as a city by the year 2050.