Riverside, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

210, placing signs or curb markings that state the hours each zone is in effect. 220: no vehicle may stop, stand, or park there for anything other than expeditiously loading or unloading passengers, or depositing mail in an adjacent mailbox, and the stop cannot exceed three minutes; where hour-restriction signs are posted, that three-minute cap applies specifically during the posted hours, and vehicles are subject to towing if the posted signs say so. 230: stops are limited to the expeditious pick-up, delivery, loading or unloading of materials (or passengers), capped at 20 minutes during the zone's effective hours unless additional signage posts a longer special time-limit extension.

A passenger vehicle may also stop briefly at a yellow freight zone solely while actively loading or unloading passengers. These are civil parking regulations enforced through the City's standard citation and towing process rather than the general misdemeanor/infraction penalty scheme, since Vehicle Code-based parking enforcement in California is processed as an administrative parking penalty rather than a criminal infraction; signage at each zone controls both the applicable hours and whether towing is authorized for violators. Businesses seeking a dedicated freight or passenger zone near their location must petition the Public Works Department, which reviews traffic and curb-space conditions before the Traffic Engineer authorizes new markings.