Richland, WA Parking Rules: Curb Color Rules (2026)

RMC § 11.30.020, part of Chapter 11.30 (Stopping, Standing, or Parking Restricted or Prohibited on Certain Streets and in Municipal Parking Lots), gives Richland's traffic engineer authority to identify any location on a city street that would become hazardous to people or property if a parked vehicle obstructed it. Those locations are marked in yellow paint once the city engineer approves the designation. Subsection B then states the actual prohibition: no person may park a vehicle on any portion of a city street adjacent to a curb painted or otherwise coated yellow, and unless the location is posted to the contrary, the yellow coating alone serves as legal notice that the adjacent street segment is a hazard zone where parking is banned.

This differs from Richland's other on-street parking rules, which generally require the city to erect a sign in the block before the restriction is enforceable (see RMC §§ 11.30.010 and 11.30.030); a yellow curb needs no accompanying sign because the paint itself is the notice. The section was most recently amended by Ord. 2025-11 § 1, tracing back to the city's original 1978 parking code, Ord. 78-77 § 1.10, carried forward through the 2011 recodification and Ord. 10-14 § 1.01. Richland's traffic and city engineers decide where curbs get painted, typically at intersections, fire lanes, and driveway approaches where a parked car would block sightlines or emergency access, and the Richland Police Department issues the citation for a violation.