Provo, UT Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Provo City Code Chapter 9.31, Parking Regulations, gives the City Traffic Engineer authority under Section 9.31.070(1) to cause curbs to be painted, lines to be painted, and signs to be erected on or near public streets to indicate where and how vehicles may park. Subsection (2) then defines what the colors mean: a red curb means no standing, stopping, or parking at any time, while a yellow curb means no stopping, standing, or parking except as stated on adjacent signs or for the purpose of temporary loading or unloading of passengers while the driver remains in the driver's place in the vehicle.

That driver-stays-in-vehicle condition is what separates a legal loading-zone stop from an ordinary parking violation. Overstaying or misusing a marked zone is enforced as a time-restricted parking violation under Section 9.31.080, which makes it unlawful to occupy a parking place, defined as an area, zone, or curb length restricted by signs or curb markings, longer than the permitted time, and which allows more than one citation to be issued for a single continuous violation. In the downtown area, Section 9.30.060 expands the definition of "parking place" to a full block radius from where a vehicle is initially parked, so moving a vehicle a few feet within that block does not reset the clock.

These curb-color and time-limit rules are civil, not criminal: violations of Provo's traffic and parking chapters are processed as civil infractions under Chapter 9.17, adopted specifically to decriminalize parking enforcement, and vehicles that create a hazard, such as blocking a driveway, can additionally be towed by a police, parking enforcement, or fire officer.