Curb colors

[Scott5114]

In Oklahoma you tend to only see painted curbs in private parking lots, and they're usually red (but I think I've seen yellow). On actual streets I don't think curbs are painted at all; parking restrictions are posted on signs.

I specifically remembered to look at this when I went to work the other day and my workplace's parking lot uses red and yellow curbs. Yellow seemed to be mostly used around rounded corners and crosswalks, but there was one curb next to the building that changed colors from red to yellow at some arbitrary point, and I couldn't really tell what was different there, other than the shuttle buses sometimes park in that area.

Then again, my workplace isn't known for having management make logical decisions (they paved the parking lot in January, and thus are currently having to pave it again), and they have at least one 12" stop sign with compressed Arial (and a few 12" by 8"ish speed limit signs in the same font that football jerseys use) so who the fuck knows what's going on in the Outside Maintenance department.

[Brandon]

Curb paint?  Inconsistent in Illinois.  Some places use more of it than others, but even then, it tends to be neglected.  Of course, in winter, you'll never see the curb paint anyway.  We're more likely to use signage to mark loading zones, no parking zones, etc.  Signage has the advantage of sticking out over the snow piled on the curb.

[1995hoo]

Yellow is no parking here in Florida also. I seem to recall somewhere (Texas?) that used red to denote fire lanes in parking lots.

Up in Indiana, or at least at Purdue, loading zones were yellow and white striped curbs.

Now in which states do yellow (or red, green, purble, glow-in-the-dark, etc.) curbs have actual legal status? I've never really seen them without parking restriction signs or in situations where parking is otherwise illegal (hydrants, driveways, near corners). I'd be interested to know if the yellow paint in a location that would otherwise be unrestricted actually matters.

I've been wrong in this thread, but I think any place you see a yellow curb in NJ is no parking. Usually they do go along with signs - no one's really trying to trap people into getting tickets. The curb color helps to define the extent of the rule when signs are ambiguous or not able to be posted at the start of the rule.

We normally have signs in Virginia, too, and normally they're posted every so often along the yellow curb ("No Parking or Standing/Fire Lane," sometimes with an arrow and sometimes without). The sign I posted in the other thread is something newer that I've only seen in a few places, namely the entrance to certain neighborhoods within the larger planned community where I live. But not all neighborhoods have those–on my street, for example, we have the more conventional signs posted every so often. I can certainly see why in a suburban residential area they might prefer to have a single sign at the entrance to a neighborhood, or at the beginning of a street, rather than multiple signs up and down the side. The added signs aren't the most eye-pleasing thing out there and it's more expensive to post additional signs. (Before anyone says it, yes, I realize that in cities there are signs all over, but I think it's fair to suggest that this is one of many differences between city and suburb.)

But I suppose this whole discussion does underscore the benefit of using some sorts of signs. If curb color meanings do differ around the country, then it's best not to assume people know what they mean.

BTW, here is the picture I posted in the other thread that prompted this whole discussion, just in case someone reading this thread didn't see it. The original context was that I was objecting to the misspelling of "Fire Lanes" as a single word when it's properly two words. ("Or" is spelled properly on the sign. I just took the photo at a dumb angle as I was driving past.)

[Alps]

I object to the hydrant being on the opposite side from the designated fire lane and having no painted curb next to it.

[Kacie Jane]

From what I recall in the Puget Sound area:

Yellow = Loading zone and/or No parking during certain times
Red = No parking ever

Seattle uses alternating red/yellow to mark bus stops, which is no parking ever unless otherwise posted. (Certain bus stops have a sign posted along with the bus stop sign that says No Parking 7AM-6PM or similar, but most are 24/7 no parking zones.)

I think generally speaking though, a good rule of thumb is:

Any color = Read the sign.

[roadfro]

I object to the hydrant being on the opposite side from the designated fire lane and having no painted curb next to it.

Missed that before... good catch, and awfully good point!

[1995hoo]

I object to the hydrant being on the opposite side from the designated fire lane and having no painted curb next to it.

I suppose the rejoinder would be that it's always illegal (at least in Virginia it is) to park on the hydrant regardless of whether it's been designated a fire lane.

I'll have to drive through there again to see if both sides of that street are designated as a fire lane further down past the first driveway. Most of the residential streets in our community have both sides designated as fire lanes, although as I mentioned somewhere before that doesn't seem to stop some people from parking there if they want. More common is people who don't park in their garage and then try to fit an extra car in the driveway by parking across the sidewalk.

[relaxok]

My problem with curb colors (California here) is that they are almost impossible to see at night, and seem to be rarely repainted.  Can't tell you how many times I've parked somewhere for a concert or something in San Francisco only to get out and see faded/chipped red or yellow paint that was practically invisible while driving..  Signs, please.