GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The odd-even and same-side parking restrictions will go into effect across Grand Rapids Wednesday.

The winter parking ordinance starts Wednesday, Nov. 1 and will remain in effect through April 1. It will be enforced from 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

An early reminder from police is to “think ahead before you go to bed,” said Grand Rapids Police Department Sgt. Cathy Williams.

This is how the ordinance works: On odd numbered days, drivers need to be parked on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses. On even days, the opposite is true.

The city said the parking restrictions are in place for a few reasons.

“It’s important for us to be able to keep the streets clear for our residents. We want to be able to provide parking for them,” said Grand Rapids City Public Services Director James Hurt. “We want to be able to keep those streets clean from the leaves.”

Hurt said as well as the snow, once winter rolls around. The parking restrictions are also enforced to help public safety vehicles.

“Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars want to be able to get down those streets throughout the winter,” said Hurt.

If drivers aren’t parked on the correct side of the street, GRPD said they can expect to find a $20 ticket on their windshield. One difference drivers can expect this year that there will be no grace period from Grand Rapids police when it comes to handing out tickets.

“We found the need for that because in years past by the time snow comes the residents aren’t conditioned to park on the right side of the street, and the streets aren’t properly prepared,” said Williams. “Nobody wants to receive a ticket, and we certainly don’t want to be issuing tickets.”

As for same-side parking, restrictions require residents to park on a specific side of the street. On some of the narrowest streets, there may be no parking allowed.

Grand Rapids has about 90 miles of streets with odd-even parking and about five miles of streets with same-side parking, according to the city’s Traffic Safety Department.

A map showing streets with parking restrictions can be found on the city’s website. Anyone with questions regarding the restrictions can call the city at 616.456.3000.

—–Online:City of Grand Rapids: Seasonal parking restrictions