How to paint driveway clearance

Announcements

January 16, 2025

Due to existing backlog of installations and budget cuts,  PBOT has suspended all PBOT installed driveway clearance requests until further notice.  You may still paint your own driveway clearance – please see instructions for this on this page

Overview

The Parking Control team at the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) can help you prevent people blocking your driveway. PBOT has established city rules around painting driveway clearance yourself or can do the work for you for a fee. If PBOT crews do the work, you may also request extra clearance, up to 3 feet on either end, as appropriate.

Either follow the guidelines below for adding driveway clearance yourself or contact PBOT Parking Control to do this work for you.

Add driveway clearance yourself

To paint your own driveway clearance, you must follow all the city criteria listed below:

1. The driveway MUST meet the definition of a driveway. Those definitions are in City Code Title 16, §16.90.105.
2. The driveway MAY NOT BE in a prohibited parking area. This includes areas marked NO PARKING AT ANY TIME, NO PARKING THIS BLOCK, or TRUCK LOADING ZONE, etc.
3. You may paint ONLY the “throat” of the driveway. The throat of a driveway is the width of the driveway at street level as well as the “wings” where the driveway slopes up to meet the curb. If you want added driveway clearance, you MUST apply to PBOT to do the work for you (see below).
4. You MUST use a specific color of paint. This color is generally called “traffic yellow.” The city may not endorse specific paint stores or traffic supply vendors. You will have to research this on your own.
5. The painted line can ONLY be as wide as the curb itself, not to exceed 8 inches.