Street parking in Bowling Green is governed by Chapter 22 (Traffic and Motor Vehicles) of the Code of Ordinances and the city's on-street parking guidelines, which follow Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards. Downtown has over 1,200 free public parking spaces across four marked areas (mint-colored signs), plus the 700-space Stadium Park Plaza garage. Two-hour limits posted on signs around Fountain Square are not actively enforced by police on city property. The state-law no-parking distances in KRS 189.450 apply citywide.
Bowling Green's street parking framework lives in Chapter 22 (Traffic and Motor Vehicles) of the Code of Ordinances, with parking-violation citation procedure in Section 22-6.02. The city's on-street parking guidelines, published by the city, set out the practical rules: signs and pavement markings are installed under MUTCD standards, posted no-parking zones are enforced as marked, and the underlying state-law no-parking distances apply by default (no parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, in an intersection, in a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, etc., under KRS 189.450). Downtown parking has been deliberately structured around free public access rather than meters. The Bowling Green Downtown organization and city updated downtown parking signage in March 2024 with mint-colored 'Free Parking' signs marking four 24/7 free public lots: two lots at Circus Square Park (601 College St.), the Stadium Park Plaza parking structure at 360 E 8th Ave. (the largest free option with 700 spaces), and the lot next to the Warren County Justice Center (1034 Center St.). Two additional lots offer free parking after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends: in front of BGMU across from the Bowling Green Ballpark (221 E Main Ave.) and across from the Warren County Justice Center (324 E 10th Ave.). The Paxton Lot at Center Street and East 10th Avenue is a 57-space metered/leased lot offering monthly business leases at $35 per spot for weekday daytime hours (Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) and is public after hours and on weekends. The Fountain Square block has posted two-hour customer signs put up under the 2025 'Share the Square' downtown business campaign, but the Bowling Green Police Department does not actively enforce that two-hour limit and the city does not ticket or tow on its own property. Parking citations issued under Chapter 22 are civil violations administered through Notice of Parking Violations (Section 22-6.02), and may be placed on a windshield when the driver is not present.
Parking in a marked no-parking zone, blocking a fire hydrant (no parking within 15 feet under KRS 189.450), parking in a crosswalk or intersection, or parking on a public sidewalk are citable parking violations under Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinances. Tickets are issued under the Notice of Parking Violations procedure in Section 22-6.02 and are handled as civil penalties. Parking in a private downtown lot without authorization can result in a tow under Chapter 15; the Fountain Square two-hour limit is signed but is not currently enforced by police on city property.
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