Is it permitted to stop a vehicle in a residential zone?

In the photo, in winter, you are entering a narrow street on a housing estate; on the right there is a blue sign D-40 "residential area". In a residential area, stopping a vehicle is allowed. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act prohibits parking in a residential area in places other than those designated for this purpose - but parking and stopping are two different concepts. Stopping is a standstill of a vehicle not caused by traffic conditions or traffic rules, lasting no longer than 1 minute, as well as every standstill caused by these conditions or rules; parking is a standstill lasting longer than a minute. The ban in a residential area applies only to parking, so a short stop, for example to drop off a passenger or to let a pedestrian pass, is allowed where there is no general ban on stopping and where it does not obstruct traffic or endanger safety. If you want to stop for longer, you look for a place marked with sign D-18 or with lines on the road. Remember also that in a residential area you drive at no more than 20 km/h, and pedestrians have right of way across the whole width of the road.

Legal basis: Art. 49 para. 2 point 4, Art. 2 point 29 and 30 and Art. 46 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); § 58 para. 1 of the Regulation on road signs and signals