Hawaii County, HI Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- HCC § 24-190(a)-(b)
- Curb color code
- Red/yellow = no parking; yellow = loading zone (§ 24-144(e)-(f))
- Driveway buffer
- 4 ft (up to 75 ft when marked)
- Hydrant buffer
- 15 feet
- Enforcing agencies
- County police and § 24-202.3 public works officers
- Last amended
- Ordinance 11-5 (2011)
Summary
The Hawai'i County Department of Public Works marks curbs and posts signs to show where standing or parking is banned near driveways, hydrants, crosswalks, intersections and fire stations. Section 24-190 lists the exact distances and lets the department indicate them by curb paint instead of signs.
The department of public works shall indicate by signs or by markings painted upon the curbings the areas within which parking has been prohibited by this division. ... Curb markings designating that curbside stopping, standing, or parking are prohibited within a certain area shall be red or yellow in color. The traffic engineer of the County and the district engineer of the State department of transportation are authorized to convert all yellow curbs in parking prohibition zones to red curbs. Curb markings designating loading zones shall be yellow in color.
Full Breakdown
Hawai'i County Code § 24-190 is the operative curb-marking provision, sitting in Chapter 24, Article 8, Division 1 (Parking Regulations). Subsection (a) bars standing or parking, except momentarily to pick up or drop off a passenger, in nine specific zones: within four feet of a driveway (up to 75 feet where signs or markings extend it), within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 30 feet of a crosswalk on either approach on a two-way street (30 feet on the approach only on a one-way street, extendable to 75 feet with markings), within 30 feet of an intersection (extendable to 75 feet with markings), within 20 feet of a fire station driveway or across the street within 75 feet of one when marked, within 75 feet of the approach to a traffic-control signal except at a marked parking stall, anywhere special signs or markings prohibit standing, within 30 feet of specific driveways on Aupuni and Pauahi Streets in Hilo, and within a marked turnaround area of a dead-end street.
" A companion provision in the same chapter, Section 24-144(e), fixes the color code the department follows once it paints: curb markings barring curbside stopping, standing or parking must be red or yellow, loading-zone curbs must be yellow, and the County traffic engineer together with the State district engineer may convert yellow no-parking curbs to red. 3, who carry limited police power to issue a citation and summons in the same form used by County police, enforceable under HRS § 803-6. Section 24-190 was last amended by Ordinance 97-50 and Ordinance 11-5.
Violations & Fines
Standing or parking in a zone the department has marked with red or yellow curb paint under Section 24-190(b), or in any of the nine distance-based no-standing zones in Section 24-190(a), draws a citation from either a county police officer (Sections 24-12, 24-15) or a designated public works enforcement employee or contractor authorized under Section 24-202.3, whose citations are enforceable under HRS § 803-6 the same as a police-issued summons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides where curbs get painted red or yellow on the Big Island?
Can public works staff, not just police, ticket a car parked at a red curb?
How close to a driveway can I park in Hawai'i County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hawaii County
Compare Hawaii County to another location·View the Hawaii parking rules overview
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