Parking Rules in Lafayette, LA (2026)
10 verified parking rules for Lafayette, Louisiana, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
RV & Boat Parking
Lafayette City-Parish Code § 86-139 bans parking a vehicle equipped with living accommodations, a sink, stove, mattress, or similar amenity, and over 22 feet long on a street for more than 24 hours. Violations are fined $50.00 to $100.00 under § 86-174(17), double the ordinary overnight-parking rate.
Lafayette RV/Living-Vehicle Street Parking Limit
Significant RestrictionsCity-Parish Code § 86-139
Sec. 86-139. - Parking of vehicles equipped with living accommodations prohibited during certain hours. (a) No person shall park a vehicle equipped with living accommodations with an overall length in excess of 22 feet on a street for a period of time in excess of 24 hours. (b) For the purpose of this section, 'vehicle equipped with living accommodations' is defined as a motor vehicle that cont...
Commercial & Oversized Vehicles
Lafayette City-Parish Code § 86-138 bars parking vehicles longer than 22 feet, dual-rear-wheel trucks with commercial plates, wreckers, or trailers on a residentially zoned street or in front of a residence, except while actively loading or unloading. Fines run $20.00 to $30.00 under § 86-174(16).
Lafayette Large/Commercial Vehicle Parking Ban
Significant RestrictionsCity-Parish Code § 86-138
Sec. 86-138. - Parking of large vehicles and trailer. No person shall park the following types of vehicles on a street in an area zoned residential (as designated in the zoning ordinance of the City of Lafayette) or on a street in front of a lot which contains a building which is used primarily as a residence, other than for the contemporaneous and expeditious loading or unloading of such vehic...
Street Parking Limits
Lafayette City-Parish Code § 86-125 requires vehicles to park parallel, headed with traffic, within 18 inches of the curb; § 86-132(a)(2) separately bans stopping within three feet of a driveway's curb-return radius. Together they cover wrong-way parking and driveway blocking on any city street.
Lafayette On-Street Parking & Driveway Rules
Some RestrictionsCity-Parish Code §§ 86-125, 86-132(a)(2)
Sec. 86-125. - Normal parking on street. No person shall stand or park a vehicle on a street other than parallel with the edge of the street headed in the direction of lawful traffic movement. The wheels of the vehicle nearest the curb shall be within 18 inches of the curb or edge of the street except where angular parking is permitted as indicated by signs or pavement markings. ... Sec. 86-132...
Overnight Parking
Lafayette City-Parish Code § 86-137 bans parking any vehicle on a street for more than 24 consecutive hours. There's no separate overnight-only window: it's a continuous 24-hour cap, enforced as a civil violation fined $20.00 to $30.00 under § 86-174(15).
Lafayette 24-Hour Street Parking Limit
Some RestrictionsCity-Parish Code § 86-137
Sec. 86-137. - Parking for more than twenty-four hours prohibited. No person shall park a vehicle upon a street for a period of time longer than 24 consecutive hours. ... Sec. 86-174(15): Section 86-137—from $20.00 to $30.00.
EV Charging
Lafayette designates public on-street parking spaces exclusively for charging electric vehicles under Code § 86-176.22, with the city-parish council approving each location by resolution. Once signs go up, § 86-176.23 caps use at four hours of active charging and bars gas vehicles, unplugged EVs, or EVs no longer charging from occupying the space.
Lafayette Electric Vehicle Parking Space Rules
Some RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances §§ 86-176.21, 86-176.23
DIVISION 8. - ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING. Sec. 86-176.21. - Purpose. The electric vehicle parking standards established in this chapter are intended to promote sustainable and alternative transportation practices; manage the availability of parking, particularly in areas that will maximize the use of electric vehicles; and thereby improve traffic and parking circulation... Sec. 86.176.23(a): Wher...
Abandoned Vehicles
Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government declares any junked or abandoned vehicle on public property, on another person's land, or left on the owner's own real property a public nuisance under City Code § 34-76. LCG may seize, sell, or dispose of the vehicle, with narrow exceptions for licensed storage yards and vehicles owned by active-duty service members.
Lafayette Junked & Abandoned Vehicle Ban
Significant RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances § 34-76
The presence of any junked vehicle or abandoned vehicle within the City of Lafayette and the unincorporated areas of the Parish of Lafayette shall be deemed and is hereby declared a public nuisance. It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or maintain such a public nuisance by abandoning, wrecking, dismantling, partially dismantling, rendering inoperable, or discarding any vehicle on the re...
Curb Color Rules
Lafayette bars stopping, standing or parking anywhere the director or fire chief has had the roadway curb painted yellow, under Code § 86-140: a flat prohibition that needs no separate sign. The same yellow-paint authority doubles as fire-lane marking under § 38-5(d), so a yellow curb outside a business often means the fire prevention bureau, not just traffic, put it there.
Lafayette Yellow Curb Parking Ban Explained
Significant RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances § 86-140
Sec. 86-140. - Stopping, standing or parking prohibited by curb markings. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle where the director and/or the fire chief has authorized the roadway curb to be painted yellow.
Loading Zones
Lafayette City-Parish's traffic engineer, not a council vote, decides where curb space goes under Code § 86-101(c): loading zones, passenger loading zones, bus stops, transit lanes, and parking meter zones all trace back to this one engineering determination. Every marked zone on a Lafayette street, from a three-minute passenger stop to a metered space, exists because the traffic engineer designated it there first.
Lafayette Traffic Engineer Curb Space Authority
Some RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances § 86-101(c)
Without limiting the authority granted herein to regulate, warn, and guide traffic, the traffic engineer, acting on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation, shall also have the following specific authority... :(1)To designate crosswalks, safety zones, stops and stands for buses, taxicabs and other passenger common carriers; loading zones, and passenger loading zones.(2)To determin...
Preferential Parking Districts
Lafayette lets residents petition for a residential permit parking zone under Code § 86-162, letting the director bar non-permitted vehicles from designated residential streets. A street only qualifies after a majority of households petition and an occupancy study shows at least 70 percent of spaces filled during the proposed restricted hours, under § 86-165.
Lafayette Residential Permit Parking Zone Rules
Some RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances §§ 86-162, 86-165(3)
Sec. 86-162. - Residential permit parking zones authorized. The director may permit parking on public streets in a residential area to vehicles bearing a valid parking permit issued pursuant to this division while prohibiting other vehicles without a valid parking permit... Sec. 86-165(3): A study shall be conducted to determine the percentage of parking spaces that are occupied during the peri...
Towing & Impound Rights
Lafayette City-Parish sets no dollar towing rate of its own. Since Ord. No. JO-061-2022 the code caps every non-consent tow and storage charge at the highest rate the Louisiana Public Service Commission or state law allows, and enforces that cap through the parking adjudication bureau. Your car must be stored inside Lafayette Parish, must be releasable 24 hours a day, and costs nothing extra to reclaim within the first 24 hours of storage.
Getting a Towed Car Back in Lafayette Parish
Heavy RestrictionsLafayette City-Parish Code of Ordinances §§ 98-194, 98-195
[Sec. 98-194. - Storage facilities and fees:] (d) All vehicles towed under the provisions of this article must be removed to, and stored in, a storage facility located inside the parish. ... (g) Owners of storage facilities must at all times provide for the release of stored vehicles without additional charges beyond those charges listed in this division, at any time within 24 hours immediately...
Looking for Lafayette Parish county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Lafayette city rules.
Parking Rules in Lafayette Parish →