Austin, TX Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Sec. 12-5-37 lets the City's traffic engineer designate 'Residents Only' parking on specific blocks for specific time periods, commonly used near dense central neighborhoods and the University of Texas campus where non-resident commuters and event visitors compete with residents for curb space. A person who stops, stands, or parks in a marked zone without a valid Resident or Visitor permit, issued by the director of the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department, violates the section regardless of intent; the permit itself is the only defense.

Subsection (B) authorizes the director to adopt administrative rules under Chapter 1-2 (Adoption of Rules) covering four things: how residents apply to create or remove a temporary or permanent residents-only zone; how the department issues and distributes Resident and Visitor permits; a pay-to-park component for resident zones located near high-demand destinations such as trails and parks, commercial or mixed-use areas, stadiums, hospitals, and universities; and a process to revoke or suspend a permit for misuse, including illegally duplicating or reselling it. B of the Vertical Mixed Use Subchapter, gives neighborhoods within 600 feet of a VMU overlay's Core Transit Corridor expedited review of new Residential Permit Parking applications: the neighborhood association endorses the request, the usual parking-study and license-plate-collection requirements are waived, and City staff must act within two weeks of receiving a complete application, with notice and sign installation following within six weeks of approval.