Drivers will need to make sure they're taking a little more care when parking in San Francisco.
City officials say those whose vehicles block sidewalks or cross walks will soon be a target for enhanced enforcement by parking control officers.
They say the bottom line is sidewalks need to be clear for pedestrians to use them safely.
“I think it will be beneficial for people like me who are primarily a pedestrian. I’m not driving around a lot, I’m walking with a stroller,” Cassandra Jabola of San Francisco said.
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She said that while she would benefit from a crackdown, she questions whether it's needed.
“I don’t know what it will mean to start ticketing people for that. I just doubt I mean part of me feels like the resources should be put toward something else because something like that I don’t see it that often where clamping down doesn’t feel like it's that necessary,” Jabola said.
“Given the scarcity of parking control officers that we faced for several years, there are people who think that the rules don’t exist. So we want to make sure that we get the word out that we are finally able to start enforcing all the rules,” said SFMTA Director Jeffery Tumlin.
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He said they’re now able to do this because the parking control office is fully staffed for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Tumlin outlined the plan at a board of directors meeting this week.
“In each supervisorial district around the city where we do about a week of intensive enforcement of all the rules but particularly the safety-oriented rules, like parking on the sidewalk, blocking fire hydrants, blocking the crosswalk, parking too close to the corner,” he said.
SFMTA released a statement saying in part, “This Parking Control Officer Neighborhood Operations Plan is one of the ways we’re making sidewalks and streets safer for people walking, biking, scooting and rolling in response to requests from the community to ensure safety and in alignment with the mayor’s 2024 transportation vision.”
