By Aldo Toledo, San Francisco Chronicle The Tribune Content Agency
San Francisco drivers will soon face fines if they park within 20 feet of marked or unmarked crosswalks thanks to a new California law - but city officials say they don't have the money to paint every affected curb red.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said the "daylighting" law will take away about 5% of the city's parking spaces, which totaled 275,500 on-street spots, based on 2014 data.
City officials confirmed Tuesday that they will only focus on painting red curbs around schools to improve the visibility of kids crossing the street, but that leaves thousands of spots without any marking. That means the city's drivers will have to be vigilant about where they can and can't park or face a $40 ticket starting Jan. 1.
The SFMTA said Tuesday that it had issued more than 375 warnings since Nov. 11. The agency is not tracking where enforcement officers are ticketing drivers. The law only targets the area that's 20 feet from crosswalks on the approaching side of the street.
"We are conducting outreach to ensure communities and businesses know what to expect when California's Daylighting Law (takes effect). Our public education campaign will remain ongoing to remind residents about AB 413 and citations that start Jan. 1, 2025," SFMTA spokesperson Michael Roccaforte wrote in an email. "Citations will carry fines of $40 where curbs are not painted red and keep the same fine of $108 where curbs are painted red."
The SFMTA said it plans to paint curbs red where there are active meters, but officials did not say whether the agency would remove or cover the meters. San Diego has already started pulling out meters.
Supporters of the law argue that daylighting intersections makes it easier for cars to see pedestrians crossing the street and for pedestrians to see cars. They say it will boost street safety in a city that has failed to meet its own Vision Zero goals to prevent traffic deaths, though some supporters say the state should have given cities funding to properly comply with the law.
The law already is enraging some drivers who have taken to social media to voice their complaints.
Madison Kane, a Western Addition resident, wrote on social media site Nextdoor that drivers are being "squeezed off SF streets" not just by the new daylighting law but also by the city's bike and pedestrian-friendly policies.
"The result is that people who need or want to drive and who are CONSUMERS are being forced off city streets and MUNI is not the alternative we are seeking," she posted. "We need to protect parking spaces, not eliminate them or it will cost the city in other ways."
Kane - who runs the hoarder cleanup company Results At Last - told the Chronicle in an interview that she's lived in the city since 1977 and never had trouble parking her car near her home until four years ago. She said the SFMTA's push to install bike lanes, create Slow Streets and eliminate car traffic on Market Street have made it tougher for drivers.
"They're killing me as a driver," she said, referring to the difficulty of finding parking when she's visiting clients. "What they're doing is killing commerce and trade."
Jane Evan wrote on the site that the law would "make parking in SF, formerly challenging, close to impossible."
Neil Okamoto posted on Nextdoor that he saw firsthand why the new daylighting law is needed. He said he was crossing at Broderick and Ellis streets when an SUV raced up the hill and turned left through the intersection without stopping.
He wrote that the SUV could not see him because of a green minivan parked within 20 feet of the crosswalk, and he couldn't see the SUV either.
"Luckily the SUV didn't turn right," he wrote. "With daylighting laws, the green minivan cannot park there. I would have been visible to the SUV sooner, and I might have seen the SUV sooner also."
The Chronicle has reached out Okamoto for further comment.
Walk San Francisco spokesperson Marta Lindsey told the Chronicle in an email that the organization supports the new state law.
"Twenty-one pedestrians have been killed in San Francisco so far this year, and daylighting is proven to reduce crashes by 30%," Lindsey said. "We need drivers to learn how this benefits them and the greater good and isn't just about parking."
Supervisor Dean Preston said while he's supportive of daylighting, he asked the SFMTA Wednesday to come up with a plan to paint curbs red where needed so drivers don't unwittingly park in an illegal spot.
"The agency needs to be clear with residents about these changes, paint curbs where parking will be prohibited, and develop a citywide plan for daylighting," Preston said. "Moving this forward without even painting curbs red undermines neighborhood trust and undermines our collaborative efforts toward achieving our Vision Zero goals."
Reach Aldo Toledo: [email protected]