Wausau, WI Parking Rules: Street Parking Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Parking-line rule
- Vehicle must stay entirely within marked space lines
- Marked by
- Traffic Division or Department of Public Works
- Boulevard/sidewalk parking
- Prohibited citywide, Section 10.20.020
- Boulevard forfeiture
- $20.00 per violation
- Line-violation forfeiture
- $10-$200 default under Section 1.01.110
- Line rule adopted
- Ordinance No. 61-5813, 2019
Summary
Wausau bars parking across a marked parking line, so every vehicle must fit entirely within its painted or marked space, under Municipal Code Section 10.20.036, and separately bans parking on any boulevard, parkway or sidewalk under Section 10.20.020. Violations forfeit $20.00 for boulevard parking under the Code's general parking chapter.
No person shall park a vehicle on any boulevard, parkway or sidewalk in the City. The forfeiture for a violation of this section shall be $20.00. ... No person shall park any vehicle across any line or marking which has been duly designated for the parking of a single vehicle by lines painted or otherwise durably marked on the curb or the surface of the street by the Traffic Division or the Department of Public Works. All parked vehicles shall be parked in such a position that the vehicle lies entirely within the area designated by such lines or markings.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
036, adopted by Ordinance No. 61-5813 in 2019, requires every parked vehicle to stay entirely within its designated space: no person may park across any line or marking that the Traffic Division or Department of Public Works has painted or durably marked on a curb or street surface to designate parking for a single vehicle. A car straddling two spaces, or hanging over a painted line into a neighboring space or a no-parking zone, violates the section regardless of whether the space itself is otherwise legal.
020 addresses a different kind of on-street encroachment: it bars parking a vehicle on any boulevard, parkway or sidewalk anywhere in the City, protecting the grass strips and walkways that run alongside Wausau streets from vehicle damage and blocked pedestrian access. 010. 030.
Violations & Fines
Section 10.20.020 sets its own forfeiture of $20.00 for parking on a boulevard, parkway or sidewalk. Section 10.20.036 does not list a separate dollar figure, so a violation defaults to the citywide penalty in Section 1.01.110: a forfeiture of $10.00 to $200.00 for a first offense, rising to at least $25.00 for a repeat conviction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I park across two spaces in Wausau?
Is it legal to park on the boulevard strip in Wausau?
Who marks legal parking spaces in Wausau?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wausau
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Street Parking Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Marathon County handle street parking limits.