MADISON (WKOW) – Thirty-two salt trucks and plows are on Madison roads cleaning up after Old Man Winter – but in order to do that, the Madison Streets Division needs your help.

“When the snow starts falling, we’re going to have our crews out on those salt routes,” said spokesperson Bryan Johnson. “The commute home is going to be a little slower, so we need people to slow down. If you encounter a plow out there, give them space to do their work.”

To stay safe and ticket-free, you’ll want to pay close attention to alternate side parking rules. For most of Madison, those rules have been in effect since November.

“On odd-numbered days, between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m., park on the odd-numbered side of the street,” Johnson said. “On even days, park on the even side between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.”

Saturday morning, there will be a Badgers men’s basketball game and many other events in and around Madison. Johnson stressed that if you are heading downtown, you’ll really want to park on a ramp rather than on the street.

“Parking off the street makes plowing simpler for everybody,” he said. “If you are going downtown for an event, choose a parking ramp. That’ll make things much better.”

If you do choose to park on the street legally, plows will have to plow around you. When they do that, they’ll miss large chunks of snow, which could pile up next to your car.

“If we plow the street you’re parked on, it might be a little hard to get your car out because there might be a big wind row of snow pushed against your car,” Johnson said.

If conditions get really bad, Madison could join several other areas throughout southern Wisconsin in declaring a snow emergency. In that case, the Madison snow removal fleet of 32 trucks would jump to 150 total pieces of equipment.

Additionally, all of Madison would have to follow alternate side parking rules, and alternate side violation tickets would increase from the usual $20 up to $60.

The City of Madison has tools to help you park safely and avoid fines at cityofmadison.com/winter.