Before you park, always check signs and road markings!
Please refer to our colour illustrated guide to lines and signs (pdf 584kb).
Red and Yellow lines
Greenways and Cycle lanes
Pay and display
Parking bays
Double red lines
You are never allowed to park on double red lines. Double red lines indicate an area where it is dangerous to park, where your vehicle is a hazard to other road users, or where it would cause congestion or impede traffic flow. These are enforceable 24 hours a day.
Single red lines
You can’t stop on a single red line between 7.30 am to 6.30 pm Monday to Friday, and between 8.30 am and 6.30 pm on Saturday. Overnight parking is allowed. Outside peak times, you need a Council Greenway permit for special parking exemptions – call the police at 0131 226 7273 to apply for a permit.
Double yellow Lines
You can't park on double yellow lines at any time. You may load or unload on double yellow lines as long as there are no kerb stripes.
Single yellow lines
Usually, you can’t park on single yellow lines between 8.30 am and 5.30 or 6.30 pm Monday to Saturday, depending on the area – check street signs to be sure. You may load or unload on single yellow lines as long as there are no kerb stripes (see below for an explanation of kerb stripes). Please note that a sign is not required at every section of single yellow line unless the time of restriction on that single yellow line varies from the gerneral times of restriction within the zone.
Double kerb stripes
Double stripes on a kerb mean there is no loading at any time.
Single kerb stripes
Single stripes on the kerb means you can’t load or unload at certain times (check street signs).
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Greenways
A Greenway is a lane dedicated for buses, taxis and bicycles. Greenways allow buses to travel quicker and easily on main roads running into and out of the centre of Edinburgh. This makes bus services more reliable and roads safer for cyclists. You may not drive other vehicles in this lane during designated hours.
Greenways are patrolled by Parking Attendants. More information on Greenways is available on the Greenways and Bus lanes page.
Cycle lanes
In addition to Greenways, there are also some small cycle lanes in Edinburgh. As the name and size indicate, these lanes are solely for cyclists’ use.
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A pay and display machine indicates short-term, paid parking. *Please note that the arrows and signs show the ticket machine location, not the direction of public parking bays.
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Residents’ parking bays
Only those with valid residents’ permits and season tickets may park in these reserved bays during operating hours. Please pay particular attention to the arrows on signs to see in which direction you should park. Residents’ parking bays are also marked with “Permit Holders Only”.
Shared use parking bays
These can be used by permit holders free of charge or visitors upon payment of the appopriate fee. Most bays operate between 8.30am and 5.30pm or 8.30am to 6.30pm depending on which area of the city they are in.
Disabled parking bays
Only those with a valid blue badge may park in bays marked with “Disabled”.
Motorcycle bays
Edinburgh has about 120 parking bays reserved just for motorcycles, marked with “Solo M/Cs”.
Loading bays
Loading bays indicate spaces where you may load and unload goods. Check signs for hours of operation.
City Car Club bays
Bays designated for City Car Club vehicles.
Other bays
There are also specifically reserved coach, police, doctor, bridal and diplomatic bays in Edinburgh.
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