Franklin, TN Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Franklin addresses loading and unloading in two ways. First, the Franklin Municipal Code authorizes the city to install signed loading-zone restrictions where business density or street geometry requires reserved curb space; the city's authority to restrict parking by ordinance is in Section 15-618 (City Authority to Restrict Parking), and the parking citation procedure is in Section 15-703 (most recently amended by Ordinance 2024-12). Signage and pavement markings follow Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards. Second, Tennessee state law treats active loading and unloading differently from parking: Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-160 enumerates stopping, standing, and parking prohibitions on the public way (within 7.5 to 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within an intersection, on a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, in front of a driveway, within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, within 30 feet of a flashing signal or stop sign, etc.), but a vehicle actively engaged in receiving or discharging passengers or goods is generally not treated as 'parked' during the active loading window. In the downtown historic core, most retail and restaurant deliveries occur in the morning before the two-hour Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. limit on Main Street between 1st and 7th Avenues takes effect, in alleys behind storefronts, or in the two free public garages: the Second Avenue South Garage at 108 2nd Avenue South and the Fourth Avenue South Garage at 115 4th Avenue South. The Fourth Avenue South Garage offers a small number of designated 30-minute parking spaces for quick pick-up and drop-off. Private loading areas, docks, and pickup/dropoff zones in Cool Springs and other commercial corridors are governed by Title 14 (Zoning and Land Use Control) site-plan standards and by private agreements with the property owner. The Franklin Police Department non-emergency line accepts complaints about vehicles blocking signed loading zones.