Amarillo, TX Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

Amarillo's parking code, Sec. 16-3-180, lists the specific places where stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle is banned outright, and painted red curbs marking a Fire Lane sit second on that list, just behind marked traffic lanes. The prohibition applies citywide, not just downtown, and covers any curb the city has designated as a fire lane, painted or otherwise. Unlike most Amarillo parking tickets, which the city processes as $25 civil penalties under Sec. 1-1-5(e), fire lane violations are expressly excluded from that civil track and remain criminal offenses punishable under the Code's general penalty, Sec.

1-1-5(a), which carries a fine of up to $500, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense. Section 16-3-180(c) gives the police department independent authority, separate from writing the citation, to have the vehicle towed and impounded immediately at the owner's expense whenever it is found parked in a prohibited spot described in the section, including beside a red curb. The ordinance presumes the registered owner is responsible for the violation absent evidence that someone else was in control of the vehicle.

and in front of trash containers on collection day, both of which carry a separate $25 minimum fine, but the fire lane and marked-traffic-lane violations are treated more seriously because they block emergency access.