San Francisco could become safer for pedestrians under new parking law
Ten years ago, San Francisco began a program called "Vision Zero" to end all pedestrian fatalities by 2024, and, obviously, that goal has not been met.
But a new state law just went into effect on Monday that may make things safer around crosswalks, even if it does face challenges in a place like San Francisco.
Robie Harnois traveled from Connecticut for work and hasn't figured out what to make of San Francisco's traffic.
"I've been here for a week and, no, I haven't gotten used to it. I don't know what's harder, driving or walking," she said with a laugh.
Harnois said she was amazed at all the distractions drivers have to deal with.
"There's scooters, there's cable cars, there's people, there's, you know, tents in the middle of the street. There's a lot of obstacles," she said.
It makes it dangerous for people trying to cross the street, especially when they can be partially hidden by cars parked along the sidewalks.
"Yeah, I feel like people can't see me when I'm around the sidewalk," said Tenderloin resident John Goodwin. "It feels that way a lot, especially here in San Francisco."
So, Assembly Bill 413 was signed into law and went into effect on Jan. 1. It prohibits parking within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk, so pedestrians, like Joe Vitale, wouldn't have to walk out into the street to see past a huge van parked right near the corner.
"Yeah, well, you don't want to get hit by a car," said Virtale. "You gotta look around. But I look around anyway because, here, the drivers, oh boy, some of them are bad news."
It's a safety measure known as "daylighting" that allows more room to see pedestrians waiting at the corner, and is already being used in the Tenderloin District. Most corners have barriers that prevent parking near the crosswalks. But in the residential areas of the Sunset District, it's a different story.
There, cars are parked along the street as far as the eye can see. Resident Lisa Mouton said there's a reason there are so many vehicles parked in a neighborhood where most homes have only single-car garages.
"One person may have like, five, six cars," she said. "And that's their privilege, you know, but I think that's unfair, because it's keeping the parking away. The people that really need a space."
The law only applies to unmarked intersections. People can continue to park at the end of a red-painted curb, even if it is within 20 feet of the crosswalk. But in the Sunset neighborhoods, there are no barriers or red curbs keeping people back, so cars are parked right at the edge of the intersections.
According to the new law, most cars near the intersections are illegally parked. But a resident named Hilton said he doesn't think it's very practical.
"It's not going to be possible out here, man. Mainly because look how tight it is already," he said. "If it's illegal, people are just going to get tickets left and right."
And he said it's that way in many areas of the City.
"Out here in San Francisco, you're fighting for parking as it is," he said. "So, making it more difficult and also the tickets for out here are absolutely ridiculous. You'll go broke in a month if you end up with that law."
The law already exists, but how much it will be enforced is yet to be seen. For the next year, San Francisco will only be issuing warnings to illegal parkers. But come 2025, the tickets will begin flowing for people parking on the edge.