Photo: Steve DiMatteo on Unsplash
Finding street parking spots in NYC is often challenging. Due to the city’s dense population, and the high cost of parking garages, the demand for street parking spots has been steadily increasing each year. Just like many cities, New York City has it’s own unique parking regulations in place that drivers should pay attention to. In this guide, I have included examples of some of these regulations, as well as images of some of the most commonly-seen street signs in New York and of course how to interpret these signs.
ASP (Alternate Side Parking)
ASP is a unique parking law in NYC that was implemented to keep the city clean by allowing street cleaning on certain days of the week.
This sign indicates that you may park on the side street anytime you wish, except on Tuesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 10:00 am (not enforced on Holidays). This means if you don’t move your car on Tuesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 10:00 am, you risk your car being towed or fined.
No Standing Anytime
This sign means that your car may not stand at this location at any given time. You may not load or unload packages. But you are allowed to drop off or pick up passengers quickly without idling
No Parking Anytime
You may not park at this location anytime. You can stop to drop off and pick up passengers and you can load and unload packages.
No Stopping Anytime
Like the sign says - You cannot stop at this location at any time.
Metered Parking
You may park here anytime, but you must pay to park (up to 2 hours) either at a kiosk or using a mobile app. The “Except Sunday” on the bottom means you may park here for free on Sunday and you may park for the whole day. Also, these metered parking spots are usually free on holidays.
Commercial Vehicles Only
if you have a commercial vehicle, you may pay to park at this location from Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm (up to 3 hours at a time). Any other times, you may park here for free even if you don't have a commercial vehicle.
Some other things to keep in mind
Fire Hydrant
If you see a fire hydrant on the side street, it’s illegal to park within 15 feet on either side of the hydrant.
Bus Stops
This space is reserved for city’s public buses, you may not park or stop at this location any time.