Cowlitz County, WA Parking Rules: Street Parking Limits (2026)

495 sets the baseline outside incorporated cities and towns: no one may stop, park, or leave a vehicle standing on the main-traveled part of a county highway, except a vehicle that becomes disabled there and cannot be moved. 500 then lists specific prohibited spots. Subsection A bars stopping, standing, or parking on the roadway side of another parked vehicle, on a sidewalk or planting strip, within an intersection, on a marked crosswalk, within 30 feet of a safety zone's curb ends, alongside a street excavation that would block traffic, on a bridge or in a tunnel, on railroad tracks, or wherever official signs prohibit it.

Subsection B adds a stricter no-standing band, even for momentary stops other than picking up or dropping off passengers: in front of a driveway or within five feet of its curb radius, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a crosswalk, within 30 feet approaching a stop sign, yield sign, or signal, and within 20 feet of a fire station driveway (75 feet on the opposite side). Subsection C bars parking within 50 feet of a railroad crossing except while actively loading or unloading. 503 sets escalating fines.