Increased Law Enforcement Effort On Wisconsin Point

If you're out at Wisconsin Point enjoying the last remaining days of summer, you might notice more law enforcement vehicles than the last time you went there.  You're not seeing things; the city has stepped up efforts at the popular recreation site to combat an increase in illegal parking.

That increase in illegal parking comes at an interesting time; since a dune-restoration project wrapped up in 2019, there are more designated parking spaces and spots than ever before at Wisconsin Point.  However, that hasn't moved the needle on the parking problem.  And - many of the illegal places that people are parking is wreaking havoc with the newly-restored dunes - placing their long-term future in jeopardy.

To fix the problem, the City of Superior is taking the steps needed to curtail the illegal parking.  According to an article in the Superior Telegram, they installed additional signs to notify would-be illegal parkers to the situation.  They've also ordered large stones "to block off problem areas".

The city's police department has also stepped up their presence on Wisconsin Point.  In addition to patrolling and leaving violation tickets on the illegally parked vehicles, the police department is also utilizing their social media sites to "educate the public on the importance of following the rules on Wisconsin Point."

Officials are also looking at additional steps.  The city's Public Safety Committee has considered increasing the dollar amount of the fines associated with parking illegally on Wisconsin Point.

They're also kicking around an aggressive towing policy for offending vehicles.  Right now the city doesn't "immediately tow vehicles for parking illegally  unless they are creating a hazard in the roadway".  But, faster turn-around on tows (i.e. getting illegally parked vehicles towed away immediately) is one of the options on the table.

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For their part, the city is reminding the general public that they're not looking to make a trip to Wisconsin Point a "bad experience".  They're just taking the necessary steps to curtail behavior that could have an effect on the long-term stability and viability of the site.  It's also a further investment in the restoration efforts that they already made.