Last updated: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 5:17 PM

Public parking

Downtown:
Parking is free for up to two hours, both on street and off street. Free three-hour parking is available at all garages (Alma/High, Bryant/Lytton, Civic Center, Cowper/Webster, Ramona/University) except in designated permit zones.

Color zones: Downtown is divided into four color zones: purple, coral, lime and blue. Motorists may park in any one zone for up to two hours(or three hours in the garages) but are prohibited from parking in that zone again for the rest of the regulated day (Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.). Thirty-minute spaces, yellow commercial-loading zones, white passenger-loading and disability designated spaces are exempt from the re-parking requirement.

Visitor parking: For a one-day pass, pay $15 and park in off-street lots and parking garages. The pass may be purchased at the Revenue Collections desk at City Hall, or the private pay garage at 525 University Ave. Permit parking for employers and employees can be purchased for any of the nine downtown lots and garages. There may be a waiting list. Call 650-329-2317 or visit Revenue Collections at City Hall. Costs for long-term permits: $420 a year, $135 a quarter. Sheraton: $75 a year, $26 a quarter. Weekly permits: $66 for large vehicles and construction workers.

California Avenue area: The lots around California Avenue are two-hour lots; the two garages on Cambridge Avenue have three-hour limits from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Permits are available and may be used in all lots and garages. $43 per quarter, $123 a year. One-day permits are $6. There may be a waiting list. Call Revenue Collections, 650-329-2317, or visit the City Hall lobby.

Web site on parking: www.cityofpaloalto.org/depts/pln/transportation/parking.asp