Modesto, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

1101 gives the Director of Public Works sole authority to place curb markings that regulate parking and standing on city streets, and it fixes what each color means. Red curbs mean no stopping, standing, or parking at any time, except that a bus may stop in a red zone signed as a bus zone. Yellow curbs bar stopping or parking during designated hours for any purpose other than loading or unloading, capped at three minutes for passengers and twenty minutes for materials. White curbs are limited to passenger loading or depositing mail in an adjacent mailbox, also capped at three minutes, during posted times.

Green curbs allow standing or parking for no longer than twenty-four minutes unless a sign specifies otherwise. Blue curbs prohibit all stopping, standing, or parking except for vehicles displaying a valid disabled person's or disabled veteran's license plate or placard. The section further bars anyone from stopping, standing, or parking adjacent to a legible curb marking in violation of these meanings once the city has placed them. 1102, Unauthorized Painting of Curbs, closes the loop from the other direction: no person other than the Director of Public Works may cause any curb surface to be painted unless the city grants permission to do so.

That means a homeowner or business cannot legally repaint a curb red, yellow, green, blue, or white on their own initiative, even to discourage parking in front of a driveway or storefront; only the city can authorize and apply regulatory curb colors. and were carried forward through Ordinance No. , effective March 12, 2020.