No Standing is the middle rung of Toronto's three-step ladder, and it is the one drivers misread most often. The word "standing" sounds like it means the car is stopped and empty. It means almost the opposite.
Toronto's parking regulations define the three restrictions as a ladder, each one tighter than the last:
So the single difference between No Parking and No Standing is merchandise. Under No Parking you may load boxes. Under No Standing you may not - people only, and only while they are actually getting in or out.
Sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running while someone runs inside is exactly what No Standing prohibits. The engine, the hazards and your presence behind the wheel change nothing. The door opening and closing should be the only event.
This is why the sign trips up so many drivers. "Standing" in traffic law describes a stopped vehicle that is waiting, occupied or not. It is not a description of a person standing outside the car, and it does not mean "parked and empty".
No Standing zones show up where the curb has to keep turning over but the city still wants passenger drop-off to work: busy commercial blocks, hotel and theatre frontages, and school drop-off zones during posted hours. They are common on stretches where a full No Stopping ban would strand taxis and rideshare pickups.
Read the time window on the sign. Outside the posted hours the restriction is not in force, and whatever the block's default rule is takes over - which in most of Toronto is the three-hour maximum.
Rules on this page follow the City of Toronto's published parking regulations. Signage varies block by block - always read the sign in front of you. See every sign in one place on the Toronto parking signs guide.
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