The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is hitting pause on the enforcement of daylighting.
AB 143, also known as California's daylighting law, took effect at the start of the year. Daylighting prohibits cars from parking within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
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WATCH HEREThe rule initially caused confusion for people parking in San Francisco, with some crosswalks still left unmarked and unpainted.
In response, SFMTA said it is not cutting any corners and will paint all approach intersections in the city. The agency also said it would make rules clearer for people parking in San Francisco.
Wednesday kicked off the daylight school program, which focuses on daylighting near the city's schools and painting curbs on the approach intersections red, making it clear that drivers cannot park there.
SFMTA received help from students from the nearby New Traditions Elementary School, painting the curbs red while walking away with a lesson on safety.
"SFMTA quickly realized that we need to paint all the curbs red in the approach to the intersection to make sure that people understood that that's not an area that folks can park to keep pedestrians safe," SFMTA Streets Director Victoria Wise said.
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San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar acknowledged that daylighting the whole city where it needs will take a long time, but emphasized the importance of keeping children safe.
"It's going to take awhile to daylight all the intersections in San Francisco, but we are prioritizing schools because we had already started, and that's who you want to keep safe, the little ones," Melgar said. "We're training a new generation to be mindful and feel safe as they're crossing the street walking to school."
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SIGN UP SFMTA plans to daylight all intersections in the city by the end of 2026.
The agency is doing daylight painting in three planned phases: daylighting the 925 intersections on the high injury network, expected to be finished in spring 2025. Around schools is the second phase, with an estimated completion date around the end of the year. The rest of the city will be completed by the end of 2026.
