Mesa, AZ Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Authority holder
- City Traffic Engineer, § 10-3-21(A)
- Tool named
- Curb painting, signs, control devices
- Decision criteria
- Sight distance, congestion, safety burdens
- Red-curb fine trigger
- $26.00 under § 10-3-21(B)(14)
Summary
Mesa gives its City Traffic Engineer sole authority to paint curbs as a parking-control device under City Code § 10-3-21(A)(1)(a), part of a broader power to mark curbs and post signs showing where and when parking is prohibited. A curb painted under this authority, most often red, carries the same legal force as a posted sign.
(A)The City Traffic Engineer is hereby authorized to determine the locations of parking prohibitions on public streets and alleys and shall have the authority to place and maintain curb markings and/or appropriate signs indicating these prohibitions and the days and hours during which these prohibitions are applicable. (4811)1.This authority includes but is not limited to the authority to:(a)Place, maintain or remove traffic signs, curb painting, or other permanent or temporary parking control devices. (4811)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
Section 10-3-21(A) authorizes the City Traffic Engineer to determine where parking is prohibited on public streets and alleys and to place and maintain curb markings or signs showing the prohibition and the days and hours it applies. Paragraph (1)(a) names curb painting specifically, alongside traffic signs and 'other permanent or temporary parking control devices,' as tools the Engineer may place, maintain, or remove. The Engineer doesn't act arbitrarily: paragraph (A)(2) requires weighing traffic safety concerns such as sight-distance obstructions near driveways and intersections, congestion from streets too narrow for parking and through traffic or lacking room for bike lanes, and public-safety burdens like blocked solid waste receptacles, parking patterns that facilitate vandalism or lewd activity, or heavy parking volume disrupting residents near schools, parks, churches, or businesses.
00 civil sanction under the fee schedule at § 10-3-25(E), separate and apart from the Engineer's underlying authority to mark the curb in the first place.
Violations & Fines
The painting authority itself isn't a violation provision, but once a curb is painted red under § 10-3-21(A)(1)(a), parking there violates § 10-3-21(B)(14) and carries a $26.00 civil sanction under § 10-3-25(E). A vehicle left in violation continuously is charged separately for each full hour under § 10-3-25(B)(1).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides where curbs get painted in Mesa?
What factors does Mesa consider before painting a curb?
Is parking next to a painted curb in Mesa automatically illegal?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mesa
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Curb Color Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle curb color rules.