Palm Springs, CA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Red curb
- No stopping or parking at any time (bus zones excepted)
- Yellow curb
- Loading only, 7am-6pm; 3 min passengers, 20 min freight
- White curb
- Passenger/mail loading only, 3 minutes, 7am-6pm
- Green curb
- 20-minute parking cap, 9am-6pm
- Blue curb
- Reserved for physically handicapped placard holders
Summary
Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 12.32.100 lets the city traffic engineer paint curbs to set parking rules: red bars all stopping, yellow limits loading to set hours, white limits passenger drop-offs, green caps parking at twenty minutes, and blue reserves spaces for disabled-placard vehicles.
§ 12.32.100. Curb markings to indicate no stopping and parking regulations. (a) The city traffic engineer is authorized, subject to the provisions and limitations of this title, to place, and when required herein shall place, the following curb markings to indicate parking or standing regulations, and said curb marking shall have the meanings as herein set forth: (1) Red shall mean no stopping or parking at any time except as permitted by the Vehicle Code, and except that a bus may stop in a red zone marked or signed as a bus zone; (2) Yellow shall mean no stopping, standing or parking at any time between seven a.m. and six p.m. of any day for any purpose other than loading or unloading of passengers or materials; provided that the loading or unloading of passengers shall not consume more than three minutes, nor the loading or unloading of materials more than twenty minutes; ... (4) Green shall mean no standing or parking for longer than twenty minutes at any time between nine a.m. and six p.m. or any day. (5) Blue shall mean parking limited exclusively to the vehicles of physically handicapped persons.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4923139; v14 updated 2026-06-24).
Full Breakdown
100, the city traffic engineer may paint curbs with five colors, each carrying its own legal meaning citywide. Red curb means no stopping or parking at any time, except that a bus may still stop in a red zone marked or signed as a bus zone. for any purpose other than loading or unloading, and even then passenger loading cannot run past three minutes, nor material loading past twenty minutes. , except that the restriction runs around the clock in front of a hotel, a mailbox, or on Palm Springs Municipal Airport property, and around the clock at a theater or restaurant except when it is closed; taxicabs may use a white zone only if it is separately signed as a taxicab stand.
m. Blue curb reserves the space exclusively for vehicles of physically handicapped persons displaying the required plate or placard. Once the traffic engineer has placed a legible curb marking, subsection (b) makes it unlawful to stop, stand or park in violation of whatever that marking indicates. As with all Title 12 parking rules, these curb-color meanings apply only within the city's own right-of-way, not on the Agua Caliente trust-land parcels checkerboarded through downtown Palm Springs, where city curb painting has no jurisdiction.
Violations & Fines
Stopping, standing or parking against a legible red, yellow, white, green or blue curb marking in violation of its stated meaning is a citable infraction under Chapter 1.01 of the Municipal Code, enforced by the Palm Springs Police Department and code enforcement officers. A vehicle left in violation of a marked zone, such as a red no-stopping curb, is also subject to towing and impoundment under Section 12.28.150, with towing and storage costs billed to the vehicle's owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a yellow curb mean in Palm Springs?
Can I park in a white curb zone to run into a store?
Who is allowed to park in a blue curb space?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Springs
California rules heatmap·Compare Palm Springs to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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Curb Color Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle curb color rules.