For questions on standards, allow 10-15 minutes to talk with staff. Applications for PBOT to do the work typically take 4-6 weeks from intake to installation.
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:
- The driveway MUST meet the definition of a driveway. Those definitions are in City Code Title 16, §16.90.105.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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 supplyvendors. You will have to research this on your own.
- The painted line can ONLY be as wide as the curb itself, not to exceed 8 inches.
Apply to have PBOT paint clearance for you and add extra
For a fee of $360, PBOT crews will paint driveway clearance for you. If you request it, they may also add extra clearance. This means painting up to 3 feet of clearance along the curb on either end of the driveway wings AND two 8-foot lines perpendicular to the curb and into the street to delineate the space. PBOT does not paint the throat of the driveway, just the curb and perpendicular lines in the street. Under city rules, these additional markings along the curb and into the street may ONLY be done by PBOT crews.
Contact PBOT Parking Control at the number listed at the top of this page to get started. Be ready to provide the following information:
- your name
- your property address
- your daytime phone number
- your e-mail
- the property owner's information (if different from you)
- the width of the driveway and whether it is shared with another property
- any problems you’re experiencing that have prompted this request
Allow 10-15 minutes to talk with staff and at least 4-6 weeks from application to installation, if approved. Please note that certain criteria must be met first and that installation may be weather-dependent.
