After a driver gets ticket for being 14 inches from the curb, a reader wonders: What are rules for parking?

Answer Man, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read

May 26—Dear Answer Man: My friend parked downtown on the street for an appointment at the Baldwin Building. We're talking about a van with handicapped plates. When she returned to her vehicle, the meter had plenty of time, but there was a ticket on her windshield. Questioning the $35 ticket, she visited City Hall to inquire about the ticket. The clerk brought up the information on her computer and showed us a picture of a ruler measuring the distance from the edge of the curb to the car tire. The distance was 14 inches. The clerk informed me that the state of Minnesota requires drivers to park no more than 12 inches from the curb. Can you imagine parking enforcement out measuring the distance from the curb? Have you ever heard of this rule? I haven't, not even in my driver's education class oh so many years ago. Is that really a rule? — Guilty by 2 inches.

Dear Guilty,

First, I hope you paid the $35 immediately. In his youth, Answer Man once neglected to pay a ticket, and the punishment was much worse later on.

That said, if you missed this information in driver's education, I'm assuming it was because you couldn't find a parking space and were late that day.

Let's start with Minnesota Statute 169.35, subdivision 1 , which states, "Except where angle parking is permitted by local ordinance, each vehicle stopped or parked upon a two-way roadway where there is an adjacent curb shall be so stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels of the vehicle parallel with and within 12 inches of the right-hand curb, provided, that such exception shall only apply to a state trunk highway after approval by the commissioner."

There are additional parts of 169.35 dealing with roads without a curb and one-way streets (same 12 inches, but sometimes on the left-hand side), but this being downtown Rochester I'll bypass those.

As they say, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."

Furthermore, if you were handed a driving manual back when you took driver's ed, the 12-inch rule is in the manual. Page 43 of the 2023 version: "When a vehicle is properly parallel parked, its wheels on the curb side will be positioned no more than 12 inches from the curb."

There's more. Point the wheels toward the curb because of the car comes out of park or the parking brake fails, the vehicle will roll toward the curb, not into traffic. Also, don't park in crosswalks, within 10 feet of fire hydrants, 50 feet of railroad tracks, on a bridge, in front of a mailbox, and a dozen or so other things.

Finally, you questioned whether RPD should be measuring tires and curbs. I would suggest RPD should enforce parking ordinances uniformly. Furthermore, you have to ask why we have the 12-inch rule. If cars are sticking out into the driving lane too far, it can be a crash hazard.

I hope your friend doesn't base her perception of our fair city on a justifiable ticket. That said, I hope she's able to parallel park within the rules in the future.

Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com .