Charleston, SC Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Section 19-242 sits in Article VIII, Division 1 of the traffic chapter and separates two kinds of curbside space. In a marked passenger loading zone, subsection (a) bars stopping, standing, or parking for any purpose other than the expeditious loading or unloading of passengers, a rule with no time cushion built in. In a marked commercial loading zone, subsection (b) restricts use to commercial vehicles identified by commercial markings and a commercial license plate, and only during the hours posted on the zone's sign; the subsection caps the loading, unloading, delivery, or pick-up of materials at thirty minutes, with no extension.

Subsection (c) adds that commercial vehicles may never block a lane of travel to load or unload and must confine that activity to a marked commercial parking zone. The section defines 'vehicle' broadly in subsection (d) as any device by or in which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, so the loading-zone rules reach trailers and non-motorized delivery equipment, not just trucks. The current text traces to Code 1975 § 33-74 and was amended three times in the last two decades, by Ordinance No.

2009-41 in March 2009, Ordinance No. 2017-134 in October 2017, and most recently Ordinance No. 2024-066 in April 2024, which also touched the adjoining bus-stop rule at § 19-246. Violations are handled through the same citation process as the rest of Article VIII: a police or parking enforcement officer may issue a traffic citation under § 19-291, with escalating fines and possible booting or towing under § 19-292 for unpaid citations.