Parking Rules in Shreveport, LA

Every city handles parking rules a little differently. In Shreveport, Louisiana, there are 10 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Loading Zones

Shreveport's traffic engineer designates passenger and commercial vehicle loading zones by ordinance and must post signs stating each zone's hours. Passenger zones cap stops at 15 minutes for boarding or discharging riders. Commercial zones cap unloading, delivery or pickup at 60 minutes, and only trucks, delivery vans or vehicles carrying commercial license plates may use them during posted hours.

Key details: Passenger zone limit: 15 minutes maximum stop. Commercial zone limit: 60 minutes maximum stop. Commercial zone use: Trucks, vans, commercial-plate vehicles only. Hotel loading zone: Up to 44 feet, 30-minute limit. Signage duty: Traffic engineer posts zone and hours.

None of sections 90-297 through 90-299 states its own fine, so a citation defaults to the general penalty in section 1-14: a fine of up to $1,000.00, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. Because chapter 90 offenses are traffic cases, section 1-16 also adds a nonrefundable $10.00 court cost against anyone convicted or pleading guilty in city court.

Curb Color Rules

When Shreveport's fire chief or the state fire marshal designates a fire lane, the property owner where that lane sits must paint the curb in a color the fire chief chooses to mark its location. Owners get written notice by certified mail and 30 days to comply, or face a $50.00 fine for failing to paint.

Key details: Citation: § 90-303. Parking fine: $50.00 (subsection (a)). Painting deadline: 30 days from notice. Notice method: Certified mail from fire chief. Non-paint fine: $50.00 (subsection (d)).

Parking in a designated fire lane draws a $50.00 civil fine under Section 90-303(a). Separately, a property owner who receives certified-mail notice from the fire chief to paint fire-lane curbs and fails to do so within the 30-day deadline in subsection (c) is subject to a further $50.00 fine under subsection (d), charged against the owner rather than a driver.

Preferential Parking Districts

Shreveport's downtown development authority runs five numbered permit parking zones where a valid monthly permit exempts a vehicle from meter charges, and some blocks are permit-only. Monthly fees range from $20.00 to $40.00 standard, reduced to $10.00 to $20.00 in special circumstances, and Zone 5's residential permits are limited to residents who prove they live there.

Key details: Citation: § 90-371. Zones: 5 downtown permit zones. Zone 1 fee: $20.00/month standard. Zones 2-3 fee: $40.00/month standard. Permit term: 3 or 6 months.

Parking in a downtown permit zone without a valid, currently paid permit, using a permit on a vehicle other than the one it names, or parking in a Zone 5 residential permit slot without proving residency there, is a parking infraction under Section 90-376, enforced the same as any other citation issued under the chapter's general parking-infraction procedure.

EV Charging

Shreveport imposes no EV-charging mandate. The Unified Development Code affirmatively allows charging spaces in any parking lot or structure and lets them count toward the minimum parking a use must provide, removing the usual penalty for converting stalls.

Key details: Governing section: UDC § 8.3.C. Charger mandate: None in city code. Parking credit: Counts toward minimum requirement. Permit needed: Electrical permit, Chapter 22. State EV road fee: $110 per year, La. R.S. 32:461.

Installing charging equipment without the required electrical permit doubles the permit fee and adds a $100 penalty under section 22-1.

Shreveport is more permissive than most cities when it comes to ev charging. That said, there are still limits.

Overnight Parking

Shreveport sets no general overnight limit on parking a passenger car on a residential street. The restrictions target size and surface: commercial vehicles and RVs face a 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew on non-residential private lots, and yard parking is regulated.

Key details: Curfew hours: 9:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.. Applies to: Commercial and recreational vehicles. Front-yard parking area: Max 50 percent, four vehicles. Exempt districts: I-1 and I-2 industrial. Passenger-car street limit: None unless signed.

Street violations are civil infractions with a $15 base penalty plus a $10 late fee; yard-surface violations run $100, $300, then $525, and section 90-305 violations run $100 then $200 per day.

Abandoned Vehicles

Shreveport gives wrecked or inoperable vehicles 48 hours on private property before they become an abatable nuisance. Inoperable vehicles must be fully enclosed in a garage. The Department of Property Standards enforces and can tow at the owner's cost.

Key details: Private-property limit: 48 hours, wrecked or inoperable. Notice to comply: Ten days after written notice. Public property tow: Seven days, section 90-273. Only lawful storage: Fully enclosed garage or building. First-offense fine: Not less than $500.

Ten-day compliance notice, appeal to environmental court, then city removal with costs assessed against the property; criminal fines start at $500 under section 38-115.

Compared to other cities, Shreveport takes a harder line on abandoned vehicles. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Street Parking Limits

Shreveport prohibits parking in front of any public or private driveway, within an intersection, or alongside any curb painted red, among 19 listed no-parking places. Every vehicle parked on a roadway must also sit parallel to the curb, headed with lawful traffic movement, its curbside wheels within 12 inches of the curb; wrong-way parking against traffic is unlawful citywide.

Key details: Citation: §§ 90-287, 90-290. Standard fine: $15.00 per citation. Late fee: $10.00 if unpaid in 10 days. Driveway rule: No parking in front of any driveway. Wrong-way rule: Must park headed with traffic flow.

Parking in front of a driveway, in an intersection, alongside a red-painted curb, or facing the wrong way against traffic is a parking infraction under Section 90-287 or 90-290. Where no specific fine is set, Section 90-277 assesses a $15.00 civil penalty per citation, due within ten days, plus a $10.00 late fee if unpaid. A vehicle that also creates a traffic hazard can be towed and impounded under Section 90-273.

RV & Boat Parking

Shreveport's Unified Development Code lets a recreational vehicle sit on a residential lot, but it cannot become a second home. Section 8.11 bars using an RV for living, sleeping, or housekeeping in any district and forbids hooking it up to public utilities, while requiring the vehicle to stay in mobile, safely-stored condition at all times.

Key details: Living use: Prohibited in any district. Utility hookups: Prohibited. Condition: Must stay in mobile condition. Governing section: UDC § 8.11. Related curfew: 9pm-9am on non-residential lots, § 8.12.

Hooking an RV up to water, sewer, or electric service, living in it, or storing it so it could tip or roll are each violations of Section 8.11. The Zoning Administrator can order the condition corrected; noncompliance escalates to court enforcement under Article 19, with a fine for each day the violation continues.

Driveway Rules

Shreveport lets residential lots park only on a paved or clearly bordered permanent parking area within the front yard; grass, dirt or an undefined patch does not qualify. That permanent area cannot exceed 50 percent of the front yard and may hold no more than four vehicles, with escalating fines for repeat violations.

Key details: Citation: § 90-287(a)(18). Surface rule: Hard surface or bordered permanent area. Size cap: 50% of front yard maximum. Vehicle cap: 4 vehicles maximum. 1st fine: $100.00.

Parking on an unpaved, unbordered or oversized front-yard area under Section 90-287(a)(18) carries an escalating civil fine set by Section 90-277(c): $100.00 for a first violation, $300.00 for a second, and $525.00 for a third, far above the $15.00 flat fine that covers most other parking infractions in the article.

Commercial & Oversized Vehicles

Shreveport bans parking any bus, truck or trailer bigger than a three-quarter-ton pickup on residential, semi-commercial or commercial streets and alleys, except for active loading. Semi-tractors, semi-trailers, dump trucks, wreckers and tow trucks cannot be left standing in any residential zone at all, and semi-trailers are barred from every zone except light and heavy industrial districts.

Key details: Citation: § 90-305. Residential ban: Semis, dump trucks, tow trucks banned. Allowed pickup size: 3/4-ton standard pickup only. Commercial zone rule: Semis limited to I-1/I-2 zones. 1st fine: $100.00.

Leaving a semi-tractor, semi-trailer, dump truck, wrecker or tow truck standing in a residential zone, or parking any oversized truck or trailer on a residential, semi-commercial or commercial street outside active loading, draws a $100.00 civil fine for a first offense and $200.00 for a second within three years under Section 90-305(e). Each day of violation is a separate offense.

This is one of the stricter rules in Shreveport's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

The Bottom Line

Shreveport is tougher than many cities when it comes to parking rules. Out of the 10 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Shreveport, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

Keep in mind that Shreveport can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.