Fargo City Leaders Discuss Penalties for Parking in Plow Zones

FARGO, ND — The City of Fargo is asking for all vehicles to be removed from residential streets Thursday and Friday as crews work to remove compact snow during the warmer weather.

Fargo city commissioners are talking about the effectiveness of current snow removal methods and a potential snow removal ordinance.

A big topic of discussion was downtown parking enforcement.

One idea is to begin fining drivers who park in plow zones 150 dollars and gradually increase the amount for repeat offenders up to 400 dollars.

A couple of commissioners expressed their concerns with high dollar amount fines.

Fargo City Commissioner John Strand said, “We’re going to penalize the poorest people the most. I don’t know that our intention is to make money on this process. Our intention is to get a result so you can access the streets and do your jobs effectively. As far as I’m concerned, towing is an adequate deterrent right there.”

Commissioners did not make any decisions, but hope all potential changes will be in full effect by the beginning of next winter.