Reverse Angle Parking

The State of New York Department of Transportation has mandated a new way to park on Genesee Street in Downtown Auburn. With reverse angle parking or back-in parking, you will back into a space so that the front of your car when parked is facing the street. This method has been used successfully across the country to improve safety on streets with high accident rates. You will see reverse angle parking begin implementation on~Genesee Street between the Loop Road (near Wegmans) and the Cayuga County Office Building located at 160 Genesee Street.

This new style of reverse angle parking was mandated by the State of New York Department of Transportation as part of the 2018 Genesee Street reconstruction due to a history of high accident rates on Genesee Street in the central downtown area. The results of the parking study indicated an accident rate in the downtown area to be nearly three times the national average. The goal of reverse angle parking is to improve safety.

Instructions for drivers: Reverse-angle parking follows a three-step process:

  1. Find an open stall and signal to let others know you intend to park
  2. With signal on, drive past the open parking stall and stop
  3. Reverse into the space using your side mirrors to view the white lines
Click on the image below for more information

instructions on how to park

The following is a list of benefits of Reverse Angle Parking:

Improved Driver Visibility:
  • When leaving a parking space, drivers are facing forward allowing a better view of traffic and cyclists.
  • Drivers do not have to back-in to traffic blindly when leaving. This makes departures safer, quicker and easier.
Easier Loading/Unloading
  • When vehicle doors are open, they block pedestrian access to the travel lane and guide them back to the sidewalk.
  • The vehicle’s trunk is accessed from the sidewalk, making it safer and more convenient to load/unload items.
Accessible Parking and Curb Ramps
  • Accessible parking spaces are provided with direct access to the sidewalk.
  • Wheel chair users can load/unload from the vehicle’s side or rear, away from the traffic lane.
Traffic Calming
  • On-street parking visually narrows the roadway lane width, contributing to slower speeds and enhancing driver alertness.
Residents and visitors to the downtown area of Auburn are reminded that there are several parking options available, these include:
  • On-street parallel parking on Loop Road, Dill Street and East Genesee Street.
  • Off-street parking lots are available at Court Street, Dill Street and on Seminary Avenue.
  • The Downtown Parking Garage on Lincoln Street offers the first 2 hours of parking for free on the upper floors.  The lower level of the garage offers hourly kiosk parking and behind the garage there are hourly metered parking spots.
  • NEW - beginning June 26, 2018 Genesee Street in Downtown offers Back-in or Reverse-Angle Parking.
  • For complete information on the new reverse angle parking on Genesee Street in downtown Auburn visit the City’s website.