Parking on State Highways

Introduction
The Division of Highways has the sole authority to regulate parking on state highways. Under certain circumstances, the Division may issue a permit to a municipality, allowing it to control or to regulate parking on state highways within its boundaries.

On Interstate highways and other controlled-access roads, no parking is permitted at any time, except in the case of an emergency.

General Parking Regulations
No person may stop, park or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon the paved or main-traveled part of the highway when it is practical to stop, park or so leave such vehicle off such part of the highway but, in every event, an unobstructed width of the highway opposite a standing vehicle shall be left for the free passage of other vehicles. A clear view of such stopped vehicles shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet in each direction along the highway. This restriction does not apply if the vehicle is disabled to the extent that leaving it upon the paved portion of the highway cannot be avoided. (West Virginia Code, Section 17C-13-1)

The Commissioner of Highways may place signs prohibiting the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles on any highway where such stopping, standing or parking is dangerous to those using the highway or where the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles would interfere with the free movement of traffic. (West Virginia Code, Section 17C-13-4) The issuance of the necessary Commissioner’s Order and the erection of the required signs will be based on an engineering study conducted by the Traffic Engineering Division.

Parking Prohibitions
The West Virginia Code, Section 17C-13-3, specifies that no person may stop, stand or park a vehicle in certain locations. These are:

• On a sidewalk
• In front of a public or private driveway
• Within an intersection
• Within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant
• In a properly designated fire lane
• On a crosswalk
• Within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection
• Within thirty feet upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway
• Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb, or within thirty feet of points on the curb opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless a different length is indicated by signs and markings
• Within fifty feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing
• Within twenty feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station and on the side of the street opposite the entrance to any fire station within seventy-five feet of the entrance (when properly signposted). (Note: Parking should be prohibited only in the area near the fire station entrance which is realistically needed in order to assure that fire-fighting equipment has no difficulty in entering into and departing from the fire station. 52 Op. Att’y Gen. 55, 1966)
• Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic
• On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street
• On any bridge or other elevated structure on a highway or within a highway tunnel
• At any place where official signs prohibit stopping
• Within twenty feet of any mail receptacle served regularly by a carrier using a motor vehicle for daily deliveries, if the parking interferes with or causes delay in the carrier’s schedule
• At any place on any highway where the safety and convenience of the traveling public is thereby endangered

Requests for Parking Studies or Parking Restrictions
All requests for parking studies on state highways should be directed to the Traffic Engineering Division. If an engineering study discloses that parking prohibitions or regulations are justified, the Traffic Engineering Division will prepare the necessary legal documents, will arrange for signs to be installed and will also work with the appropriate police agencies to have the regulations enforced.