Pawtucket, RI Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

City Code § 388-63 creates the Memorial Hospital Zone, a mapped area of streets under § 388-64 including Arch Street, Beechwood Avenue, Brewster Street and a dozen other named blocks. Inside the zone, no one may park on a public street unless the vehicle displays a valid resident parking permit, is a commercial or service vehicle temporarily there for business, is an emergency or public service vehicle, or carries a valid guest or temporary permit; § 388-63A(5), added in 2010, waives the permit requirement on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

Residents get permits through the City Clerk's office by presenting a Rhode Island vehicle registration showing the Hospital Zone address; a household without a car can instead get one guest permit using a tax bill, utility bill, lease or similar proof of residency. Permits expire January 31 every two years and change color each cycle. Losing a guest permit costs $50 to replace. Transferring a permit to a non-resident, or altering or duplicating one, is a separate violation under § 388-65 punishable by a $100 fine under § 388-66, on top of the standard § 388-5 fine for parking without a permit.

The newer Tidewater Stadium Zone, added by Ch. No. 3314 in April 2025 under §§ 388-68 through 388-72, works the same way but only during designated stadium events, covering streets like East Avenue, Lyman Street and Tidewater Street; a lost Stadium Zone guest permit costs $100 for a first replacement, rising to $200 and $300 for later replacements, and violations without a permit are fined under § 388-5 with towing authorized under § 388-71.