Guide
Signs, the 12-hour limit, through streets at night, permits, snow and who to ask.
In Hamilton you may park on a street wherever it is permitted, and posted signs show any restrictions. Unsigned streets are still subject to by-laws that are not posted, including a 12-hour limit on all City streets and a ban on parking on designated through streets from 2 to 7 a.m. every day. Residents of signed permit zones can buy annual permits.
Wherever parking is permitted. Posted signs show where restrictions or conditions apply, and where there are no signs parking is unrestricted, but still subject to by-laws that are not usually posted: no overnight parking on through streets, intersection and crosswalk clearances, and the 12-hour limit. At a meter, you must pay and stay within the posted maximum time.
Designated through highways ban parking from 2 to 7 a.m. every day of the year, to allow street cleaning, catch basin cleaning and minor road repairs. No permit exempts you. Individual through streets are not signed; signs at the major entrances to the city announce the rule.
If you live in a one-, two- or three-unit dwelling on or next to a street with permit parking or a time limit, you can buy an annual Permit Parking Zone permit for your street, or a Time Limit Exemption permit that exempts you from signed time limits in your zone. Your vehicle's ownership must show your current address. Renew before 1 January each year; the City recommends doing so by mid-December.
Permits do not let you park on arterial streets, do not guarantee a space, and do not exempt you from no-parking signs, the through-street ban or the 12-hour limit. They are not issued for vehicles over 4,500 kg or 6.4 m, with dual rear wheels, or for tow trucks or buses.
Contact parking staff at 905-540-6000 about the street or block. Staff review the regulations and, if a change is warranted, recommend a by-law update to Council; once Council approves it, the by-law is updated and the signs are changed.
The City asks residents to keep vehicles off the road during and immediately after a snowfall, so plows can clear the whole width of the street and cars are not plowed in. Residents with permits may park within their permit's scope, but during snow events the City strongly encourages parking off the street.
City of Hamilton
On-Street ParkingCity of Hamilton
Snow Clearing