Lincoln, NE Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

Lincoln Municipal Code § 10.32.130 sits in Chapter 10.32, Stopping, Standing, and Parking. It pairs a prohibition on private action with a statement of who holds the power instead. The section makes it unlawful for any person to paint, mark, set aside, or otherwise designate any curb or street in any manner to attempt to prevent or regulate the parking of vehicles in any street or part thereof. It then provides that marking or designating portions of streets or alleys where parking is prohibited or limited shall be done only by the city through its proper officers.

The list of covered acts is broad. Painting a curb is the obvious case, but the Lincoln section also reaches marking, setting aside, and the catch-all "otherwise designate," and it adds "in any manner." A resident does not get around § 10.32.130 by using something other than paint. What matters is the purpose: an attempt to prevent or regulate parking in a Lincoln street or any part of it.

The word "attempt" matters too. Under § 10.32.130 the act is unlawful whether or not any driver obeys the marking, because the section targets the effort to control parking rather than the result.

The rule names both curbs and streets, so a marking on the pavement is treated the same as paint on the curb face. It also covers both kinds of control, preventing parking outright and regulating it. The closing sentence of § 10.32.130 matches that scope by reserving to the city both the places where parking is prohibited and the places where it is limited, and it names alleys along with streets.

The practical result in Lincoln is that only city-authorized markings, including any color-coded no-parking curb, carry legal effect. A homeowner or business that paints a curb red on its own does not create an enforceable no-parking zone, and the painting is itself the unlawful act under § 10.32.130.