GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Winter is kicking into high gear in West Michigan with cold temperatures and a lot of snow.
All that snow could cause you to get a parking ticket if you don't follow the odd-even rule when parking on some streets in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Police say 848 citations have been written just since Sunday. All of the tickets were given to people not obeying the odd-even ordinance.
Streets that are designated as Odd-Even streets means that even-numbered days, from 1 a.m. until 6 p.m., parking is not allowed on the odd-numbered side of the street. On odd-numbered days, parking is not allowed during those times on the even-numbered side of the street. From 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., next day parking is allowed on both sides of the street, unless otherwise noted.
The ordinance is in place to allow snow plows to clear the streets, and plowing both sides of the road is essential to allow vehicle access.
"Our goal is not to go out and cite people, our goal is to remind people to park on the appropriate side of the roadways," said Grand Rapids Police Sgt. Terry Dixon.
"It doesn't affect all of the streets in the city of Grand Rapids, it does affect the more narrow streets," Dixon added.
According to the city, Grand Rapids has about 90 miles of odd-even parking streets and five miles of single sided winter restrictions. Signage is in place for all the routes.
For all the parking details, visit www.grcity.us and click on Traffic Safety Department.
