San Francisco, CA—Julie Kirschbaum, the SFMTA’s Acting Director of Transportation, is announcing a new plan to prioritize fairness and safety in implementing California’s “daylighting” traffic safety law in San Francisco. The agency will continue to issue warnings instead of tickets to drivers parked at unmarked (gray) curbs. At the same time, they will continue painting red curbs at intersections to ensure clear, visible markings and a fair transition to compliance with the new law.
The California Daylighting Law (AB 413) prohibits parking within 20 feet of the approach side of a crosswalk to improve visibility at intersections for both people walking and driving. Daylighting is a proven safety measure to prevent traffic crashes and save lives. For pedestrians, daylighting means that they don’t have to venture into the intersection and peek around parked cars to see if they have a clear path to cross. For drivers, they get a clearer view of the intersection and can easily see if someone is waiting to cross from well in advance.
“Our highest priority is keeping people safe—not issuing citations,” said Kirschbaum. “Since I became the Acting Director of Transportation at the SFMTA, I have made it a priority to listen to community members, and I have heard repeated concerns about how we planned to implement the state’s daylighting law. Daylighting is an incredibly important tool for street safety, but I want to make sure when we roll it out citywide, we do it fairly. I’m thankful to Supervisors Chan and Walton for urging us to find a solution that is both swift and fair.”
Watch Julie Kirschbaum’s video announcement.
Under the new program, warnings—not fines—will continue to be issued to vehicles parked at unmarked curbs within 20 feet of crosswalk approaches until the curbs are painted red. Meanwhile, the SFMTA will paint the required curbs throughout the city red within 18 months. The agency will start with daylighting school zones, because drivers entering an intersection often can’t see children entering a crosswalk if they’re hidden by a parked car. Families with children, people who use wheelchairs and people shorter than the height of a car benefit most from improving visibility at intersections.
Once the curbs are painted red, standard red-curb rules and fines will apply as they do today, making enforcement clearer and easier to understand. The new plan will enhance clarity for residents and visitors by ensuring all daylighting has visible markings, so drivers know where parking is allowed.
San Franciscans can start making streets safer right now by avoiding parking within 20 feet of the approach to an intersection. As part of a broader campaign to educate drivers about the new state law, the SFMTA will continue to issue no-cost warning notices to cars parked in these spaces. This will remind people that parking is prohibited within 20 feet of the approach side of a crosswalk in accordance with California law, and that the curb will be painted red at that location in the future.
“We appreciate the balanced approach of advancing pedestrian safety and fairly implementing enforcement,” said District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan.
What is Daylighting?
“Daylighting” is the practice of improving safety at intersections by prohibiting parking next to crosswalks.
The California Daylighting Law (AB 413) prohibits parking within 20 feet of the approach side of a crosswalk—whether marked or unmarked—to improve visibility at intersections for both people walking and driving. Daylighting increases the visual field of both pedestrians crossing the street, and drivers pulling up to an intersection.
This practice is a proven safety measure to prevent crashes and save lives. Studies show this simple change can reduce collisions by 30%. The mandate brings California in line with over 40 other states where this is standard regulation.
To learn more about Daylighting in San Francisco, visit our Daylighting webpage (SFMTA.com/Daylighting).
ABOUT THE SFMTA
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the city. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway (Muni) public transit, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. Established by voter mandate in 1999, the SFMTA aggregated multiple San Francisco city agencies, including the Department of Parking and Traffic, Muni, and since 2007, the Taxi Commission.
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