Milwaukee unpaid parking ticket towing enforcement begins

City starts towing habitual parking violators

Milwaukee drivers are at risk of getting their cars towed and impounded after the latest phase of an unpaid parking ticket crackdown took effect on Jan. 1. 

MILWAUKEE - Thousands of Milwaukee drivers are at risk of getting their cars towed and impounded after the latest phase of an unpaid parking ticket crackdown took effect on New Year's Day.

Parking ticket ordinance

The backstory:

In late October, city leaders announced more than 28,000 habitual parking violators would be sent a letter to notify them of changes coming with the new ordinance.

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The ordinance allows the city to tow vehicles that have five or more unpaid parking tickets that are more than 60 days old. Owners had two months to pay or get on a payment plan to take care of citations.

City of Milwaukee Tow Lot

Towing operations begin

What they're saying:

Now, Milwaukee is in enforcement mode. 

"There have been cars towed," Ald. Scott Spiker said Saturday.

Spiker said the city would start towing vehicles – parked legally or illegally – if the owners had made no effort to pay tickets as of Thursday, Jan. 1. 

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So where are we now? The alderman said roughly 400 people have paid 1,600 tickets, leaving "a ton" of outstanding violations. Now that the two-month warning window has closed, he said the city is making good on its promise to tow.

"It's a case of tough love. We're trying to get people to do what's in their best interest," said Spiker.

Spiker also said the idea of towing and impounding vehicles is not new. What is new, though, are the mandatory letters that give people options to pay. The ordinance also means drivers need to resolve their tickets at the tow lot, in addition to paying towing and storage fees.

City of Milwaukee Tow Lot

"This will be better for them to get on a payment plan than to lose their vehicle," he said.

Milwaukee resident Oliver Robinson said he thinks the city is a little late in trying to fix unpaid parking ticket problems, but people have to be responsible.

"If you've been notified and you don't handle it, that's on you. They got to do what they got to do," said Robinson.

READ MORE: Milwaukee parking meter rates increase in 2026, implemented in phases

What's next:

As for the thousands of people who still have not made an effort to pay their tickets, Spiker said the clock is ticking.

"The tow trucks are coming. We don't want to tow you, but we will if people don't do what's in their best interest," he said.

Spiker said the hope is money collected as a result of the ordinance will cover a variety of city expenses – like buying new fire trucks, keeping libraries open and lowering taxes.