City records obtained by Presence News through a California Public Records Act request show thousands of parking citations concentrated along some of Pasadena’s busiest streets, offering a warning for visitors unfamiliar with local parking rules.
PASADENA, Calif. — Visitors coming to Pasadena for its restaurants, shopping, museums, entertainment and major events may want to spend an extra minute reading the signs before walking away from their cars.
Parking citation records obtained by Presence News from the City of Pasadena through a recently submitted California Public Records Act request show that three streets stood out in 2025 for the number of parking tickets issued: Lake Avenue, Colorado Boulevard and Madison Avenue.
An analysis of the city’s 2025 citation records found approximately 9,804 monetary citations associated with Lake Avenue, 8,534 with Colorado Boulevard and 4,621 with Madison Avenue. (Exact number of citations calculated was done by AI) The analysis combines directional portions of the same roadway, such as East and West Colorado Boulevard, and excludes entries recorded only as warnings.
The numbers do not mean that a driver parking legally on these streets is more likely to receive an improper ticket. Instead, they show where Pasadena parking enforcement issued the greatest number of citations during the year—information that could be particularly useful for tourists and other visitors unfamiliar with the city’s parking restrictions.
No. 1: Lake Avenue — 9,804 Citations
Lake Avenue ranked first, with approximately 9,804 monetary citations appearing in the 2025 records reviewed by Presence News.
The city’s records repeatedly show expired parking meters among the violations along South Lake Avenue. For example, a series of June citations at addresses including 99, 170 and 264 S. Lake Ave. were issued for expired meters.
The pattern appears throughout the year. Records from August show another series of expired-meter citations at numerous South Lake Avenue addresses, with the original citation amount listed as $61 in those examples.
That is especially relevant for tourists visiting the South Lake Avenue commercial district, where someone may park for lunch, shopping or an appointment and underestimate how long they have been away from the vehicle.
Drivers should not assume that being only a few minutes late will go unnoticed. Before leaving a vehicle, visitors should check the meter, nearby signs, curb markings and any applicable time restrictions.
No. 2: Colorado Boulevard — 8,534 Citations
Colorado Boulevard was another major parking-enforcement location.
Presence News counted approximately 8,534 monetary citations associated with Colorado Boulevard after combining the east and west portions of the street.
Colorado Boulevard runs through the heart of Pasadena and its commercial and tourist areas, making it one of the city’s most recognizable streets. The citation records show a mixture of violations, including expired meters, red-zone parking and more serious restricted parking violations.
A July enforcement period, for example, shows multiple expired-meter citations along both East and West Colorado Boulevard, as well as a bus-zone citation carrying an original amount of $379 and a red-zone violation.
Late-December records show the pattern continuing, with citations for expired meters at addresses along both East and West Colorado Boulevard and a red-zone violation at 13 W. Colorado Blvd.
For visitors heading into Old Pasadena and central Pasadena, the lesson is straightforward: finding an open curb space does not necessarily mean the space is available without restrictions.
Pay close attention to meters, colored curbs, bus zones and signs before leaving the vehicle.
No. 3: Madison Avenue — 4,621 Citations
Madison Avenue ranked third, with approximately 4,621 monetary citations in the 2025 data analyzed by Presence News.
Here, the records illustrate another potential trap for visitors: time-limited parking.
A series of citations issued on Dec. 23 along South Madison Avenue were identified as overtime parking violations, with records describing the restriction as “Overtime prkg 1hr-2hr-3hr-4hr-5h.” Citations that day appeared at multiple addresses, including 216, 295, 321, 343, 388, 400, 420, 478, 500 and 560 S. Madison Ave.
Other portions of Madison Avenue generated meter citations as well. In May, the records show repeated expired-meter citations at 44 S. Madison Ave., and a June record at the same address includes a substantially more expensive citation for parking in a disabled space.
For tourists, that illustrates an important distinction: paying attention to the meter alone may not be enough. A space can also be subject to a maximum parking duration or another posted restriction.
Parking Tickets Can Quickly Become an Expensive Part of a Pasadena Trip
Many of the ordinary parking citations in the 2025 records were around $60 or $61, although the amount varied depending on the violation and date. More serious violations could be considerably higher.
The records, for example, include Colorado Boulevard bus-zone citations in the hundreds of dollars.
That can turn what appears to be convenient street parking into an unexpectedly expensive part of a visit.
The dataset also shows that Pasadena parking enforcement is not limited to expired meters. Records throughout the year include citations involving red zones, disabled spaces, bus zones, overnight parking, overtime parking, no-stopping restrictions, missing license plates and other parking or vehicle-code violations.
Overnight Visitors Should Be Particularly Careful
Tourists staying overnight should also make sure they understand Pasadena’s overnight parking rules rather than assuming that an apparently unrestricted residential street is automatically legal throughout the night.
The city records contain numerous entries specifically identifying overnight parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. as a violation. Early January records, for example, show repeated overnight-parking citations along Los Robles Avenue.
That makes overnight parking an important consideration for visitors staying at hotels, short-term rentals or with friends and family.
Read the Signs Before Walking Away
The data does not suggest tourists should avoid Lake Avenue, Colorado Boulevard or Madison Avenue. All three are heavily traveled streets, and higher citation totals can naturally be influenced by factors such as the number of parking spaces, traffic, commercial activity and the amount of parking enforcement occurring there.
The records also do not identify whether the people receiving citations were tourists, Pasadena residents or other visitors.
What they do show is that parking rules are actively enforced—and certain Pasadena streets generated thousands of citations during a single year.
For visitors unfamiliar with Pasadena, taking a photograph of the parking sign, setting a phone timer before a meter expires and checking restrictions before leaving the vehicle can be considerably cheaper than assuming a parking space is safe.
For tourists planning a day in Pasadena, the City’s own 2025 citation records offer a simple reminder:
Enjoy the city—but read the parking signs first.
Presence News analyzed 2025 parking citation records provided by the City of Pasadena in response to a California Public Records Act request. Counts in this article exclude warning-only records and combine directional segments of the same named street. Citation status in the underlying records includes open, closed, dismissed and voided cases; accordingly, these figures represent monetary citations recorded in the dataset, not necessarily citations ultimately upheld or paid.
CALL TO ACTION (CTA):
Have you received messages from parking officials in the area to apply for daily parking passes instead of the regular monthly lower rate? Have you been requested additional documentation not required or stated on their website to issue your household parking pass? Such as in person search of households, being asked if parking officials can interview each person in a household and/or being asked to be visited by parking representatives? If so – let Presence News know – we are on your side.
Source Documents: Presence News obtained the 2025 parking citation records used in this analysis from the City of Pasadena through a California Public Records Act request. The original records are available below.
2025 Pasadena Parking Citation Data — Part 1
2025 Pasadena Parking Citation Data — Part 2