San Francisco drivers will need to start paying attention to where they park, specifically near marked and unmarked crosswalks. That’s because the city is starting to enforce a state law aimed at pedestrian safety.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) began Monday enforcing the “Daylighting Law” for vehicles parked less than 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalks in the direction of approaching traffic. One example where a vehicle could get a warning is being parked less than 20 feet from a stop sign.
Transit officials said parking control officers will start issuing warning citations followed by $40 fines starting Jan. 1, 2025.
The SFMTA said the agency is complying with Assembly Bill 413, which the state legislature passed in 2023 and later signed by the governor. Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-Milpitas) authored AB 413. The law went into effect at the beginning of this year but fines can only be issued beginning next year according to AB 413.
Daylighting is a common tool used by the SFMTA in several of their small and larger capital projects to improve the sightlines of drivers and pedestrians when approaching a crosswalk. The agency usually removes the parking space closest to the crosswalk and paints the area as a red zone. With the new law being enacted by the city, tens of thousands of parking spaces will no longer be available.
Daylighting seeks to improve the sightlines of drivers and pedestrians when approaching a crosswalk.
Due to limited resources, the SFMTA previously said to SFGate that it would not be painting every corner near a crosswalk red. Despite not being painted red, the SFMTA said on its website that vehicles still receive a citation if violating the new law.
City supervisors in the past have asked the SFMTA to daylight more intersections and passed a resolution in 2019 urging the agency to create a daylight plan to fast-track approvals to implement them.
Walk San Francisco, the pedestrian safety advocacy group, said there have been 21 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes so far this year. City data showed that a total of 18 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes last year.
The SFMTA has posted an informational video about the new daylight law on YouTube.
Jerold Chinn is a freelance reporter who covers transportation in San Francisco.