Washington County, MD Parking Rules: Street Parking Limits (2026)

Code of Public Local Laws § 7-402(a), Traffic Impedance, provides that a person may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle so as to impede the movement of traffic or constitute a threat to public safety on a road, a highway, an alley, or a public parking facility of the county. This is the county's general on-street stopping/standing/parking rule and sits alongside companion provisions in the same Subtitle 4 covering obstructions of roads, ditches, and drains at § 7-402(c). Enforcement is layered: under § 7-402(d)(1), a person who refuses or neglects to comply with an order from the County Commissioners, the zoning inspector, or the Sheriff to remove a vehicle or obstruction within 24 hours of notice is guilty of a misdemeanor subject to a fine of up to $500 for each separate offense.

Beyond that notice-and-cure process, § 7-402(d)(2) lets the Sheriff impound a vehicle directly if it is parked in violation of the section, poses a definite hazard to public safety, or is parked, stopped, or standing so as to impede or obstruct the normal movement of traffic or pedestrians. Reclaiming an impounded vehicle under § 7-402(d)(3) requires the owner to pay all outstanding fines and costs, including towing, impoundment, and storage costs, plus any administrative fees the County Commissioners establish. The section does not carry a separate driveway-blocking or wrong-way-parking clause; those situations are captured under the general "impede the movement of traffic" standard in subsection (a) rather than a distinct numbered rule.