Give parking scofflaws the boot

Give them the boot! The city of La Crosse is considering new ways to deal with those who commit a parking violation but fail to pay the ticket. It is a real problem in La Crosse, with unpaid and overdue parking tickets totaling more than a quarter million dollars. Previously, the city issued increasingly higher fines for how long people went without paying, or if they had a bunch of fines that went unpaid. Wisely, the council has abandoned that plan so that a second alternate-side parking fine is no more than the first. That makes sense, because if people don’t pay a $10 parking ticket, how likely are they to pay when it goes up to $20? Or $30? Now the city is looking into the idea of slapping a boot on the tires of these parking scofflaws. That is possible thanks to a new state law that allows municipalities to boot and tow the cars of those who fail to pay overdue parking tickets. La Crosse should take advantage of this law, and pass legislation allowing for the booting and towing of these cars. It will no doubt lead to people paying their tickets in a more timely fashion, and if a car is booted and towed, they would have to pay their fines before getting their car back. That should be a good incentive. Plus, there is a bit of shaming that comes with finding your car immobilized by the city for all to see. Such a plan would likely make people more inclined to avoid getting a parking ticket, and make it more likely that those who do would pay up more quickly.