Milwaukee's 2026 parking plan: Extended meter hours, 65,000 more tickets issued

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Parking in downtown Milwaukee is going to cost more in the months to come. In addition to extending metered hours in high-traffic parts of the city, the Department of Public Works (DPW) plans to write 65,000 more parking tickets in 2026 than its projected number this year.

A depleted city transportation fund is at the heart of the changes. Milwaukee has seen fewer commuters downtown since the COVID-19 pandemic hit five years ago, and parking revenues haven't recovered to previous levels.

In response, the city is extending the hours during which people must pay to park on downtown streets. For most of the city, parking is free after 6 p.m. Currently, in parts of the Third Ward, street parking is now metered through 9 p.m. 

During budget hearings Thursday, DPW officials confirmed those extended meter hours are being phased in across the rest of downtown. In the Third Ward Friday afternoon, people visiting the area voiced opposition to the extension.

"I think it's pretty messed up," Tyler Smith, a second-year player on the Bucks, said. "People like to come down here a lot and eat. I feel like after a certain time, you should just let them do that for free. They're already paying to get some food, you know?"

Others said they'd be discouraged from coming downtown as frequently during evening hours. Robert Souliviong, Jr., a student at UW-Milwaukee, said he enjoys studying at Third Ward cafes.

"It's kind of unfair," he said. "Just makes it inaccessible to everybody around here that usually works here or just confides here at those hours, the 6 to 9 hours."

DPW officials also want to increase the number of parking tickets the city issues. After handing out nearly 397,000 tickets in 2024, the city projects it will issue 485,000 citations this year.

In 2026, the department said it plans to write 550,000 tickets. That total would amount to a 13% increase over this year's projected total, and it'd be a nearly 39% increase from 2024.

"I mean, for the city, it's good," Smith, a second-year player on the Bucks, said. "But for people? I mean, you might want to start Ubering."

The DPW is seeking funding to hire more parking officers in its effort to issue more citations. During Thursday's hearing, Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic expressed skepticism, and she shared the concerns of a Bay View constituent who was ticketed while out for dinner at a sushi restaurant.

"You're asking for more people to be out there ticketing more people to make a certain number that's 13% higher than last year," Dimitrijevic said. "And if we don't reach that, we have a hole in our budget."

Parking Services Manager Peter Knox said the plans were not a simple money grab. Instead, he said DPW was responding to complaints about illegal parking, and it was targeting parts of the city where violations happen most frequently.

"We're not blindly doing things," Knox said. "We have an understanding of what's going on and where some of the parking concerns are we want to address."

In 2024, Milwaukee made nearly $11.4 million in parking citation revenue. It projected to make $17 million this year, although budget director Nic Kovac acknowledged that was too ambitious of a number.

"We weren't as conservative as we should've been," Kovac conceded during Thursday's hearing.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson's proposed budget calls for $14 million in parking ticket revenue next year. The proposed budget estimates an increase in meter revenue from $4.24 million to $4.63 million.

Thomas Bovin, who said he often comes downtown to get together with relatives, suggested local businesses might ultimately be the ones who pay the price for more metered hours and stricter enforcement.

"I feel like it's gonna have less people come over here and walk the neighborhood and shop here," Bovin said. "If they're making us pay more for those three extra hours."