The rules behind every photo on this site.
Each entry here is tied to a written law. Two bodies of text matter. The DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR), Title 18 govern drivers and are what a ticket is written under. The DDOT Design and Engineering Manual (DEM) governs how the District designs curbs and corners -- it is not ticket text, but it explains why setbacks exist. Everything below is quoted from the official source. Citations link out so you can read the full section yourself.
// 01Parking, stopping, and standing
These are in 18 DCMR Chapter 24. They apply to a parked or standing vehicle and are what a parking ticket cites.
"… no person shall stop, stand, or park a motor vehicle or trailer … (b) On a crosswalk"
Plain English: A vehicle on the marked crosswalk itself is prohibited -- stopping, standing, or parking, with no exception for loading or drop-off. This is the strongest crosswalk-specific rule. It does not set a distance; it bars the crosswalk surface.
MPD Parking Regulations manual, p.5 (approved May 9, 2023).
"… no person shall stop, stand, or park a motor vehicle or trailer … (f) In any driveway, alley entrance, or other way when stopping, standing or parking would obstruct the flow of pedestrians or other lawful traffic upon any sidewalk;"
Plain English: A vehicle overhanging or blocking the sidewalk from a driveway or alley entrance is prohibited even when it is not on the marked crosswalk. This is the precise rule for a car parked across the sidewalk approach.
MPD Parking Regulations manual, pp.9-10.
"No person shall stand or park a motor vehicle or trailer … (including for the purpose of loading or unloading materials) … (c) … within forty feet (40 ft.) of the intersection of curb lines of intersecting streets or within twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of the intersection of curb lines on the far (non-approach) side of a one-way street …"
Plain English: The no-sign-required intersection setback. 40 feet on the approach side, measured from the intersection of curb lines; 25 feet only on the far (non-approach) side of a one-way street. It expressly covers loading and unloading materials -- "I was loading" does not defeat it. The only carve-out is a vehicle stopping momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger.
MPD Parking Regulations manual, p.10. Current dcregs cross-reference is § 2440.2; the 2023 MPD manual still shows the older § 2411.21. Distance language is identical.
// 02Driving into a crossing you cannot clear
This one is a moving violation, not a parking rule. It covers "blocking the box" -- a driver who enters and then sits in the crosswalk because traffic ahead has stopped.
"No driver shall enter an intersection or marked crosswalk, unless the movement can be made such that the vehicle can completely clear the intersection without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any official traffic control device indication to proceed. A vehicle shall not enter an intersection to turn right or left unless there is sufficient space on the roadway being entered to accommodate the vehicle."
Plain English: Green light or not, you may not roll into a crosswalk or intersection unless you can get all the way through. A car stranded across the crossing is in violation.
MPD Moving Violations manual, p.13 (approved May 9, 2023).
// 03Sidewalks and ADA access
Federal accessibility guidance sets the floor for a usable sidewalk. When a vehicle, sign, or closure narrows the path below it, the crossing is no longer accessible.
Public sidewalks must provide a 48-inch (4-foot) continuous clear width, exclusive of the curb.
Plain English: 48 inches is the minimum clear path on a public sidewalk. (The 36-inch figure people often cite is the private-site ADA standard, not the public right-of-way standard.) A parked car, A-frame sign, or scaffold that leaves less than 48 inches blocks wheelchair and stroller passage.
US Access Board, Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines.
"… the permittee [shall] provide a Safe Accommodation for pedestrians and bicyclists. The blockage of a sidewalk … shall be treated in the same manner as the closure of a lane of motor vehicle traffic … closing a sidewalk and routing pedestrians to the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street shall only be approved as a last resort …"
Plain English: A construction or work-zone permit that blocks a sidewalk must keep pedestrians moving safely -- a covered walkway, a protected path, proper signage. Dumping people across the street is a last resort, not a default. A sidewalk simply closed with no detour is not compliant.
DDOT TCP Inspection Criteria, pp.7-8; DDOT Pedestrian Safety and Work Zone Standards (Jul 2010).
// 04How DDOT is supposed to design corners
The DEM is design guidance for DDOT staff, consultants, and developers -- not the text on a ticket. It matters here because it is the District's own statement of why corners need to stay clear. When DDOT stripes a parking space or posts a loading-zone sign that lets a vehicle sit inside these setbacks, it is overriding its own design rules.
"In general parking is restricted 40' toward intersection (measured for approaching P.I.) and 25' away from intersection (measured from departure P.I.)."
Plain English: DDOT's own layout rule mirrors the 40/25 DCMR setback. The note above it is blunt: "NO PARKING IS ALLOWED WITHIN AN INTERSECTION."
DDOT Design and Engineering Manual, April 2009, p.43-7.
"A minimum clearance of 20 ft. between the first parking space and the stop line … A minimum clearance of 22 ft. shall be provided between the back-edge line of the crosswalk and the beginning point of the angle parking space."
Plain English: Angle parking has its own crosswalk clearances -- 20 feet off the stop line, 22 feet off the back edge of the crosswalk.
DDOT DEM 2009, p.46-2.
"… within a 30 ft. by 30 ft. sight triangle at each intersection corner, no landscaping or hardscaping shall be permitted that will block the line of sight, generally higher than 24 in. … The city may limit parking to protect visibility."
Plain English: Corners have a protected line of sight -- a 30-by-30-foot triangle kept clear of anything taller than about 2 feet. The District is authorized to remove parking to preserve it. This is the engineering case for daylighting.
DDOT DEM 2009, pp.30-8 to 30-9 and p.35-6.
// 05Which rule applies, and when
| Situation | Cite this |
|---|---|
| Vehicle sitting on the marked crosswalk | 18 DCMR 2405.1(b) |
| Vehicle blocking the sidewalk from a driveway or alley | 18 DCMR 2405.1(f) |
| Parked or standing within 40 ft of an intersection | 18 DCMR 2405.2(c) |
| Driver stuck in the crossing / blocking the box | 18 DCMR 2201.11 |
| Sidewalk narrowed below a usable width | PROWAG 48 in |
| Sidewalk closed by a permit with no safe detour | DDOT TCP / Work Zone Standards |
| Arguing a corner should be daylit | DEM § 30.6.2 sight triangle |
Rule of thumb: cite the DCMR for a ticket or a 311 enforcement read, and the DEM when the argument is about how DDOT designed or signed the curb.
One honest caveat: how the setback gets measured
The DCMR measures from the intersection of curb lines. The DEM also uses stop bars and crosswalk back edges. DDOT's 2021 Connecticut Avenue Q&A defended a 25-foot layout by adding the crosswalk width (15-20 ft) to reach "in excess of 40 feet." So a curb that looks striped at 25 feet can still be defended as meeting a 40-foot visibility goal. For a specific block, the controlling document is the current DDOT curbside order or striping plan for that block face.
There is also no single universal DC daylighting statute. The District protects corners through the 40-foot setback above, sight-triangle design rules, and piecemeal flex-post projects -- not one blanket law.
// 06Sources
Citations on this page were checked against primary sources in two independent deep-research passes (Gemini and ChatGPT, June 2026). The statute text is quoted from:
- D.C. Municipal Regulations, Title 18 — dcregs.dc.gov (codified text for §§ 2201.11, 2405.1, 2405.2).
- MPD Parking Regulations and Moving Violations training manuals (approved May 9, 2023) — page-numbered reproductions of the DCMR text.
- DDOT Design and Engineering Manual, April 2009 edition — the directly retrievable version; DDOT's compendium lists newer 2017/2019/2023 editions.
- DDOT TCP Inspection Criteria (20th ed.) and Pedestrian Safety & Work Zone Standards (Jul 2010).
- US Access Board Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG).
This page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice. For a citation challenge or a block-specific question, pull the exact notice-of-infraction code and the current DDOT curbside order for that location.