A sure sign of winter
Night time parking bans start Saturday

Houghton Police Department photo
HOUGHTON — It is inevitable, that there are changes and events to mark the end of fall and the beginning of winter — Christmas sales, the change from Daylight time and night parking bans.
Parking bans in most municipalities are nearly identical to that of the city of Houghton: Parking between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. is prohibited on all city streets between Nov. 1 and April 30 every year.
Houghton’s ordinance says persons are allowed to park vehicles on a lawn or side yard when no other parking is available during the period from No. 1 through April 30 only. The ordinance states this is done to keep the streets clear for the plow trucks to move the snow.
Houghton Police Lt. Nick Roberts said between 2 and 7 a.m. vehicles must be off the street at night. “There are no allowances,” he said. Hancock’s ordinance differs from Houghton’s in that regard. In Hancock there are residences that do not have driveways or that lack off-street parking. In those instances, the city ordinance allows vehicles to be parked on the street, providing two wheels on the same side of the vehicle are parked on the sidewalk.
“Once one side of your vehicle is up on the sidewalk, you’re usually far enough off the street for the snow plows to get through,” Hancock Police Lt. David Outinen said.
Hancock Police will also issue a warning before a citation as a reminder of the parking ban. Outinen said patrol officers will generally begin with courtesy cards place on windshields cautioning vehicle owners to park in driveways until April 30.
“We’ll probably start doing that on nights prior to the parking ban,” Outinen said. “But once the snow starts and the plows come out, that’s when we’ll pretty much start ticketing.”
In the village of Laurium, as with other municipalities, between 2 and 7 a.m. if a vehicle has to be towed for the street to be plowed, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense, in addition to any fines attached to violating the parking ban.
The village of Calumet also has a winter parking ban from November 1 to April 30, prohibiting overnight street parking between 2. and 7 a.m. Violators also risk a ticket and towing.
Outinen said the important thing to remember is Halloween Night. Right after midnight of Halloween night, the night parking ban take effect.
Both Outinen and Roberts said if anyone has questions about night parking, call their local police station.
“Day or night doesn’t matter,” Roberts said. “We don’t want to tow vehicles, we hate doing that.”
Both officers said they would rather work with the community than work against them.