It's interesting. When I go home to visit my Mother in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, you can't park your car overnight on the streets of the town she lives in. When I lived one town over it was the same thing. Yet, growing up several towns away, street parking was largely unregulated. When I moved to Warrensburg, it seems folks only park on one side of Gay and Maguire Streets. Anyway, with curiosity getting the best of me, I've decided to look at Missouri's parking laws, starting with whether can you park on residential streets in Missouri.

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Is Street Parking in Residential Areas Legal in Missouri? 

Generally, yes. The Missouri Driver Guide provides Missourians with some guidelines regarding parking and goes into some common sense details about keeping you and your vehicle safe when parking on the street. It even points out that parking is normally permitted on either side of the street on one-way streets.

Missouri State Statutes seem to assume that street parking is generally legal. However, they outline some parking no-nos. You can't double park. You can't park on a sidewalk, in an intersection, in a crosswalk, near a safety zone, or within 30 feet of the end of a safety zone unless otherwise posted, next to, or opposite an area, where street excavation is happening where you would block traffic. You also can't park on bridges, in tunnels, or on railroad tracks.

The statutes also outline where else you can't park: in front of a driveway, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, within 30 feet of a traffic light, stop sign, or any traffic control sign on the side of the road, within 20 feet of a fire station driveway and 75 feet of the fire station driveway across from it, and anywhere signs prohibit parking.

What About Local Laws?

Like many laws, the State of Missouri gives towns and cities some latitude when it comes to deciding parking rules and regulations. I mentioned before, it seems that people only park on one side of the street I live on, so I looked at Warrensburg's Municipal Code regarding parking. In Warrensburg, the city's traffic engineer has the authority to ban parking on streets that do not exceed 20 feet in width and on one side of the street on streets that are not more than 30 feet in width.

I went out and looked because it has been a few years since I paid attention, but that's why everyone parks on one side of the street I live on in Warrensburg, they've prohibited parking on the other side of the street.

Sedalia's Parking Ordinances, as well as Knob Noster's, are very similar to Warrensburg's including giving the city's traffic engineer the authority to ban parking on narrow streets.

As far as parking ordinances go in Kansas City and St. Louis you should be aware of the following:

Street/Overnight Parking in Kansas City

According to Prked, street parking overnight is permitted in Kansas City. However, street parking in high-traffic areas is limited to two hours and will cost you. Expect to pay for street parking in the following areas: The Plaza, Crown Center, Union Station, The Power and Light District, and The River Market. Prked says to pay attention to the signs as they will tell you if parking is permitted.

Street/Overnight Parking in St. Louis

Prked says overnight parking on St. Louis streets is illegal, however, with a permit you can park on the street for up to 72 hours. Additionally, if you are a registered guest at a hotel you may park overnight on the street. Like Kansas City, street parking in St. Louis is regulated and metered in high-traffic areas. Expect to pay to park on the street in the following areas: The Loop, Central West End, Downtown, Soulard, and The Hill.

Additionally, some residential areas may limit street parking to residents with permits. Prked recommends paying attention to the signs to make sure you're not parking illegally.

Heed The Signs

The bottom line, yes, you can park your vehicle on residential streets in Missouri, unless there are signs prohibiting it. You can also park overnight on streets in Warrensburg, Sedalia, Knob Noster, and Kansas City. However, that's a no-no in St. Louis. The reality is, pay attention to the posted signs. If you do that and feed the meters when necessary, parking should be a breeze.