Crossing a Red Line That You Can't See

Beginning January 1st, California has banned parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk. The purpose of the "daylighting" law is to make pedestrians more visible to drivers who may not see them crossing because of parked vehicles.

(Illustration from Trumbull/Chronicle)

San Francisco had begun ticketing such closely parked cars although there were no warning signs or curbs painted red. [bold added]

After confronting a stiff outcry from residents and elected leaders, San Francisco’s transportation agency has scrapped plans to ticket motorists who park in unmarked “daylighting” zones near crosswalks, the agency’s director said Monday.

Previously, officials at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency intended to cite any driver who parks within 20 feet of a crosswalk — the safety buffer mandated by California’s new daylighting law — regardless of whether or not the curb is painted red...

While citations for parking in red zones carry a $108 fine, SFMTA had proposed lowering the penalty to $40 if the 20 foot buffer was not marked. Strained by limited resources, transportation staff said it would take years to paint curbs throughout the city, so the reduced fine represented a compromise.

But San Franciscans balked. Kirschbaum said that when she met with members of the public, they brought up the daylighting enforcement plan over and over again. City supervisors echoed their misgivings, saying the $40 tickets were unfair. When Kirschbaum relayed their feedback to new Mayor Daniel Lurie, she said he supported her idea to quash the $40 fines...

SFMTA announced a retreat. Drivers who park at red curbs will still be ticketed; those who park at unmarked gray curbs will not, even if they are within 20 feet of a crosswalk.

Besides nixing the $40 tickets, the agency will also accelerate its process for striping curbs to comply with the daylighting law. Transportation planners are now giving themselves 18 months to coat all the daylight zones in red paint, a far more compressed schedule than the initial projection of four to five years.

Comments:

1) the daylighting law has a lot to commend it. Some pedestrians dash into crosswalks where views are blocked by parked trucks or SUVs.

2) people draw the line at protecting the public if it means taking away their parking space!

3) "Ignorance of the law is no excuse": no one seems to believe that any more with the many thousands of rules and regulations that the average person has to deal with.