Common Parking Rules Drivers Often Get Wrong

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Driving around the country is a favorite American pastime, and I’ve certainly done my share. When I arrive in a city in which I’ve never been before, I like to ditch the car for a while and walk around. But that can be risky if you don’t know the parking rules that apply there. And given the traffic flow modifications that many cities have recently adopted, the rules (some of them, anyway) seem to be changing faster than drivers can keep up.

Where can you park and where can’t you? If parking is legal, how long can you stay without getting towed, and how much will it cost if you get towed? But really, there’s no mystery, according to auto insurance specialist Melanie Musson. “Knowing where you can and cannot park is pretty easy if you pay attention.” All you have to do, she says, is follow the signs.

Assuming there are any.

Where You Can and Can’t Park

You can always park in a municipal parking lot or parking garage, as long as there’s room and you pay the fee. It’s usually also OK to park on the street, especially if other cars are there, but if the space you choose has a meter, it’s important to feed it. Fines in congested urban areas can be expensive. The cost of a meter violation rose by 40 percent in San Francisco since the pandemic and can set you back more than $100, according to the San Francisco Standard.

Signs usually identify the places you can’t park, as well as curb colors and symbols, such as the universal handicap symbol. Anyone who has taken a driver’s test should know them, because they’re the same all over North America. Engineer Paul Dorr of The Traffic Group refreshes your memory. You can’t park in front of:

Fire hydrants. A 5- to 15-foot clearance is required, depending on the city.
Red, yellow or white curbs. White curbs are loading zones and often have signs indicating when parking is not allowed;
Green curbs for longer than the period indicated by the sign (anywhere from five to 30 minutes or longer);
Blue curbs. These are handicap spaces, and fines for using one without a placard are steep;
Intersections or pedestrian crossings;
Commercial or residential driveways.

Double parking, which means parking alongside a car that is legally parked, is also a violation that some big cities take seriously, even if you do it for only a few minutes. The base fine in New York City is $115, and it rises quickly if you do it repeatedly.

Parking Signs, Meters, and Time Limits

If you see a sign near an open parking space, be sure to read it. It’s probably advising you:

of a time limit;
parking there is allowed only at certain times of day;
parking there requires a permit.

When you pull into a space with a meter, read the meter label before you feed it, because in most cities, parking in a metered space is free after a certain time of day, usually 6 or 8 PM. You might not have to pay.

The label also tells you the rate per hour and, if the meter takes payment cards, it usually provides basic instructions for using one.

How Parking Rules Change in Big Cities

In increasingly congested cities, cars compete for curb space with bike lanes, commercial loading zones, pedestrian walkways, outdoor dining, bus stops and EV charging stations. To manage all this, some cities prohibit street parking in certain areas altogether.

Two big changes across the country have an increasing impact on your ability to park. One is the sheer number of cars on the road, which has grown steadily over the years, jumping by 13 million in 2023 alone. The other is that some cities — San Francisco, San Jose, Austin and Hartford among them — have reduced available parking to make room for more buildings. This puts a premium on parking spaces, and meter rates may be significantly higher or vary according to time of day or demand in these cities.

Street Cleaning and Alternate-Side Parking

The signs near an available parking space may be advising you of alternate street parking. That’s a parking rule that requires drivers to move their cars from one side of the street to the other on specific days and times so street sweepers can clean along the curb.

“Typically,” explains Dorr, “parking is restricted for one day during the week between certain hours so the street sweeper can clean that side of the street. The following week the parking restriction is on the other side allowing the other side of the street to be cleaned.” Needless to say, you can get a ticket if you ignore these signs, and your car could get towed or sideswiped by a street cleaner.

Parking Tickets, Towing, and Other Penalties

If your car gets towed, it’s important to retrieve it quickly, because storage fees accumulate every day the car is impounded. You can usually find out where it is by calling the local police non-emergency line. According to Dorr, you ‘ll have to pay some or all of the following fees:

Towing fee, which can range from $100 to $300, depending on the city;
Storage fee, which ranges from $15 to $50 per day;
Administrative processing fee, which can range from $30 to $100;
Parking fine or traffic violation ticket.

How to Check Parking Rules Before You Park

“Look up the municipal government page (such as the local Department of Transportation or Parking Authority) for the city you plan to visit,” advises Dorr. “They often list street sweeping schedules, permit zones, and meter rates.” In addition he suggests consulting a parking app like Spot Angels or ParkMobile, or a GIS parking restriction map on your mobile device for the city you’re visiting.

FAQ

How Do You Know If Street Parking Is Legal?

You can park on any street as long as there are no painted curb colors or posted signs. To avoid a fine, you must stay the legal distance from fire hydrants and intersections, you can’t block a driveway, and your car must be within 18 inches of the curb. Some cities require you to turn your front wheels toward the curb when parking on a slope and fine you for non-compliance.

How Close Can You Park to a Fire Hydrant?

It’s pretty standard, but it can vary depending on the city. According to Dorr, the standard rule is 15 feet. Two outliers are Washington, D.C., where it’s 10 feet, and Salt Lake City, UT, where it’s only 5 feet.

Can You Park Overnight on a City Street?

This depends on local laws. It’s generally legal unless “no overnight parking” signs or signs advising of alternate side parking are posted. In some residential neighborhoods, you may see a sign advising that a permit is required to park there. “If there are “permit parking only” signs and you don’t know what a permit means,” says Musson, “that’s a good sign that you don’t have a permit and can’t park there.” She also advises paying attention to what other drivers do. “If no cars are parked on the street, that’s a good sign that it’s not allowed.”

About the Experts

Melanie Musson is a published insurance and finance expert. She is an expert consultant with AutoInsurance.org.
Paul Dorr is the Director of Engineering Design at The Traffic Group. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), County Engineers Association of Maryland (CEAM), and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).