Learn Spanish (Latin America): La parada está a la derecha de la plaza.

In Spanish, we always use the verb estar to talk about physical location, no matter how permanent it is. Whether it is a movable book or a built-in bus stop, if you are stating where it is, use estar.

Since this lesson is about hacia, could I say hacia la derecha here?

You could use hacia, but it changes the meaning. A la derecha means the stop is physically located "on the right." If you say hacia la derecha, it means "towards the right," which implies movement. Since the stop isn't moving and we are just stating its location, we use a.

Why is it a la derecha de instead of en la derecha de?

While English speakers say "on the right," Spanish uses the preposition a (to/at) for these specific directional phrases. The full set phrase is always a la derecha de (to/on the right of). You will see the exact same pattern for the left: a la izquierda de.

Does parada mean 'parade'?