Tolerating L.A. traffic is a series of defeats and small victories—but mostly defeats. The same is often true of parking; anyone who’s circled the block in Koreatown or paid a premium for a spot on the Sunset Strip knows the agony of finding street parking.

But parking doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Those small victories? You can thank curb colors for those. Here’s the gist: You can never park at a red curb, and white curbs—with a tiny number of exceptions—are for passenger loading only. But green and yellow-painted curbs are the secret spots of L.A. street parking. During the day they camouflage themselves as seemingly open spaces that you can’t actually park in, but at night it’s like they’re saved just for you.

Yellow curbs

Otherwise known as loading zones, these yellow-painted curbs are usually limited to passenger loading and commercial vehicles during the day. But in most L.A. County cities, they turn into regular parking spots (subject to any posted street signs) at night. Here are when yellow curbs are enforced (meaning don’t park there during these times, but do park there otherwise):

Los Angeles: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Beverly Hills: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Burbank: Mon–Sun, 8am–6pm

Culver City: Mon–Sat, 7:30am–6pm

Glendale: Mon–Sat, 9am–6pm

Hermosa Beach: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Inglewood: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Long Beach: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Manhattan Beach: Mon–Sun, 7am–6pm

Pasadena: Mon–Sat, 6am–6pm

Redondo Beach: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Santa Monica: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

South Pasadena: Mon–Sat, 6am–6pm

Torrance: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

West Hollywood: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Unincorporated L.A. County: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Green curbs

These short-term parking spots are typically limited to 15 or 30-minute limits. Not every city uses green curbs—they’re absent in West Hollywood and Manhattan Beach—but for those that do, they’re only enforced during these hours:

Los Angeles: Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm

Beverly Hills: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Burbank: Mon–Sun, 8am–6pm

Culver City: Mon–Sun, 7:30am–6pm

Glendale: Mon–Sat, 9am–6pm

Hermosa Beach: 24/7

Inglewood: Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm

Long Beach: Mon–Sat, 9am–6pm

Pasadena: Mon–Sat, 6am–6pm

Redondo Beach: Mon–Sun 7am–6pm

Santa Monica: 24/7

South Pasadena: Mon–Sat, 6am–6pm

Torrance: Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm

Holidays

You know when parking meters and signs say “…except holidays”? In L.A. and most other cities, these are the days they’re talking about:

New Year’s Day

Martin Luther King’s Birthday

President’s Day

Memorial Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Columbus Day

Veteran’s Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day

In Los Angeles, if the holiday falls on a Saturday, then holiday parking would also be in effect on the Friday before; if on a Sunday, then the Monday after. Other cities may always waive parking meters but not street sweeping on other holidays. For example, West Hollywood doesn’t enforce meter time limits on Cesar Chavez Day and Harvey Milk Day.

Overnight parking

Overnight parking is allowed in Los Angeles, unless a posted sign otherwise. But that’s not the case in every city: Without a permit, street parking is banned in Pasadena between 2am and 6am, in Beverly Hills from 2:30am to 5am and in South Pasadena from 2am to 6am. Certain areas, like West Hollywood, may have heavily restricted overnight street parking unless you have the proper permit.

Long-term parking

Technically, any street-parked vehicle that hasn’t been moved in 72 hours is considered abandoned. That doesn’t mean the police are constantly patrolling your street, just waiting to tow your car, but it does mean that someone could report it.

Some traffic PSAs

Since we have your attention, here are a few helpful traffic laws to know—and some neglected ones that Angelenos could use a reminder about.

You can make a left on red if you’re turning from a one-way street to another one-way street. This is true throughout California.

You can ignore red light camera tickets. You absolutely shouldn’t run a red light, but if you fail to pay a red light camera ticket in L.A. County, neither the DMV nor credit agencies will be notified. Beverly Hills has notoriously stepped up its number of red light cameras, but as long as the ticket comes from the county, you can ignore it.

Lane splitting is legal. As much as you may shake your fist at the motorcyclist squeezing between your car and the one next to you, it’s perfectly legal—assuming they’re doing so safely within the speed limit.

Leave space between your car and bicyclists. Legally, you’ll need to leave at least three feet.

Flashing red traffic lights are treated like stop signs. We would’ve thought this was basic driving knowledge, but the number of drivers who barrel through them or stay stopped says otherwise. The same goes for a broken traffic light.

You can’t wear headphones in both ears. Sorry, smartphone addicts, but you need to keep one ear open.

You need to yield to emergency vehicles. It doesn’t matter what direction it’s coming from; pull over, unless you’re in the middle of an intersection, which leads us to...

Don’t block intersections. You know how you snuck through a yellow-turning-red light even though there wasn’t enough room for your car on the other side of the intersection? You just violated the Anti-Gridlock Act of 1987, and your fellow blocked commuters aren’t very happy.

If your wipers are on, your headlights should be on. We get it, it doesn’t rain very often, but it’s just common sense.

Use your turn signals. That’s just us being cranky.

In the mood for some light legal reading? Brush up on some city municipal codes below if you want to know more about everything from boat parking to the laws behind line painting—plus, we aren’t lawyers (so don’t blame us if you do get a ticket); do your own research with the links below.

Beverly Hills

Burbank

Culver City

Glendale

Hermosa Beach

Inglewood

L.A. County

Long Beach

Manhattan Beach

Pasadena

Redondo Beach

Santa Monica

South Pasadena

West Hollywood

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