Palm Desert, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

The city traffic engineer places curb markings in the City of Palm Desert under § 10.56.020, and each color carries a printed meaning. Red means no stopping, standing or parking at any time except as permitted by the Vehicle Code, with one exception: a bus can stop in a red zone marked or signed as a bus zone. Yellow means no stopping, standing or parking between seven a.m. and six p.m. of any day except Sundays and holidays for any purpose other than loading or unloading of passengers or materials, with passenger loading limited to three minutes and materials to twenty minutes. White means no stopping for any purpose other than loading or unloading passengers or depositing mail in an adjacent mailbox, limited to three minutes, during the same seven a.m. to six p.m. window. In front of a hotel or a mailbox the white restriction applies at all times, and in front of a theater it applies at all times except when the theater is closed.

Green is defined in a different chapter. Section 10.48.150 says a green curb marking means no standing or parking for longer than twenty minutes between nine a.m. and six p.m. on any day except Sundays and holidays.

Paint and signs are interchangeable tools under § 10.48.030, which authorizes the traffic engineer to maintain no-stopping signs, no-parking areas and restricted parking areas by appropriate signs or by paint upon the curb surface. Under § 10.48.040, red paint is how the traffic engineer indicates a hazard area, a council-established no-parking area, and the space within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection in the general traffic district or any business district. Under § 10.56.010(C) and (D), loading zones are marked with yellow paint upon the top of the curb and passenger loading zones with white paint upon the top of the curb.

Subsection D of § 10.56.020 closes the loop: once the traffic engineer has caused curb markings to be placed, no person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle adjacent to any legible curb marking in violation of the section.