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

Yakima follows the standard Washington practice that all official curb markings and signage on public streets - red (no parking / fire lane), yellow (loading zone), green (time-limited parking), white (passenger loading), and blue (accessible parking) - are placed by City of Yakima Streets and Traffic Operations Division staff under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards referenced through YMC Chapter 9.50 (Parking and Rules of the Road). Residents and adjacent property owners may not paint, repaint, or alter a public curb; the city does not maintain a permit program for private red-curb requests in front of driveways. Even where curb paint has faded or is missing, the state-law parking restrictions apply by default through RCW 46.61.570 (Stopping, standing, or parking prohibited in specified places): no parking within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant on either side, within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, within an intersection itself, on a sidewalk, in front of a public or private driveway, or in any space where official signs prohibit stopping. Blocking a fire hydrant is among the most heavily enforced parking violations because of the immediate public-safety risk. To report missing or faded curb markings or sign damage, contact City of Yakima Streets and Traffic Operations; for active parking enforcement, contact the Yakima Police Department non-emergency line at (509) 575-6200. Unauthorized painting of a public curb is unauthorized work in the public right-of-way and may require restoration at the property owner's expense plus penalties.