Back to www.houstontx.gov > ParkHouston > Parking Tips

ParkHouston

Parking Tips

ParkHouston believes parking should be easy and convenient for our customers. By following these tips, we can help you park and avoid parking citations.

  1. Use ParkHouston’s convenient payment options to receive an alert before your parking session expires. You can add more time from your phone and no need to run back to your car.
    • Page link for bullet points below at www.houstontx.gov/parking/meters.html
    • ParkHouston App or ParkMobile
    • Text “Park” to 77223
    • Google Pay
    • Credit Card
    • Cash is accepted but there are no alerts with this payment method
  2. When you enter your license plate number in the app or at the meter:
  3. Do not pay an “attendant” when parking at the curb or in a City parking lot, only pay at the meter or by app.
  4. Know the time limit. Check the signs, your receipt or the pay station for the time limit for the block. After the time limit expires, you must move your car to another block.
  5. Read signs carefully. Check the signs on the block to become familiar with the parking regulations. During special events check for Emergency No Parking Zones and red-bagged meters. Red-bagged meters are reserved at all times for the permit holder. Other vehicles can be cited and towed.
  6. Know the mobility lane hours (7am-9am, 4pm-6pm). To help get commuters in and out of downtown, several blocks become tow-away zones during commute hours. Check the signs carefully for these restrictions.
  7. Only commercial vehicles with company logos displayed can park in marked commercial vehicle loading zones. Check carefully for the signs and/or red meters.
  8. When parking in a private parking lot, the attendant should have a logo on their shirt matching the parking lot sign.
  9. We recommend parking in lots that provide a pay station that produces a printed receipt for proof of payment.
  10. Take a refresher course and review the Texas Transportation Code parking regulations in the Driver's Handbook. Signs are not required to be posted for these regulations.

Change No Parking to Know ParkingChange No Parking to KNOW Parking

Check your parking knowledge and see if you really Know Parking.

1. If a vehicle is parked in your driveway, it’s legal to block the sidewalk.
A. Yes, because my garage is full
B. Yes, we have more than two cars
C. No, this is a safety hazard

2. How far are you required to park from a fire hydrant?
A. 5 feet
B. 10 feet
C. 15 feet

3. There is a crosswalk at an intersection ahead; how far from it should you park?
A. 10 feet
B. 20 feet
C. A car length

4. A car is parked 10 feet from a stop sign. Is it legally parked?
A. Yes
B. No

5. If a car is parked less than 18” from the curb, it does not matter which direction it is facing.
A. True
B. False

6. If the car can still get out, you can park at the curve or apron part of a driveway.
A. True
B. False

Let us help parking make sense for your neighborhood. The ParkHouston Parking Tips presentation below provides an overview of parking safety for neighborhoods. Schedule your presentation today!