Painted curbs (red no-parking, yellow loading, etc.) are official traffic-control markings placed only by the road authority—not by residents. Rural county roads generally have no painted curbs; where markings exist, they are set by the city road authority under state law.
Colored curb markings are official traffic-control devices, and only the authority with jurisdiction over the road may install them. Residents may not paint a curb red or yellow to reserve parking in front of their property—that is an unauthorized traffic-control device. State law provides the road authority "may place official traffic control devices prohibiting or restricting the stopping, standing, or parking of vehicles on a highway where in its judgment this... is dangerous." Unincorporated Yellowstone County roads are typically uncurbed rural roads with no painted markings. Inside Billings or Laurel, curb-color meanings follow that city's code. If a curb needs a no-parking or loading designation, request it through the road authority rather than painting it yourself.
Ignoring an official painted-curb restriction is a stopping/parking violation under the governing city code; installing unauthorized curb markings is itself prohibited as a fake traffic-control device.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Yellowstone County, MT
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Yellowstone County, MT
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Yellowstone County, MT
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See how Yellowstone County's curb color rules rules stack up against other locations.
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