'Daylighting' Law In CA Means Safer Streets, Less Parking And Lots Of Confusion

CALIFORNIA — "Daylighting," a policy meant to make pedestrians and motorists more visible to each other, is now the law of the land in California. However, it also means less parking and more parking tickets for Golden State motorists.

Many drivers could end up with a ticket for parking in what appears to be a legal street-parking spot.

Daylighting refers to keeping parked cars away from crosswalks. Under a state law that took effect this year, drivers are now prohibited from parking a certain distance from any marked or unmarked crosswalks. That's generally 15 to 20 feet, and it applies even if the curb isn't painted red.

"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. This is especially important for children, who are less visible at intersections. At the same time, drivers get a clearer view of the intersection and can easily see if someone is waiting to cross from well in advance," the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said.

While advocates say the policy is a common-sense measure to reduce pedestrian injuries — California's pedestrian fatality rate is nearly 25 percent higher than the national average, state data shows — the implementation of the law is less than straightforward.

The law generally prohibits vehicles from parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk on the side of the street where vehicles approach a crosswalk (the right side on a standard two-way street), or 15 feet in instances where the curb around the crosswalk bumps out into the street.

But drivers shouldn't expect the restrictions to be spelled out for them at each crosswalk.

“There’s a big gap in the public’s awareness of this legislation,” Colin Heyne, a spokesman for the San Jose Department of Transportation, told Bay Area News Group. “We have more than 60,000 intersections in this city, so we’re not going to be able to paint the curbs red for every one of them. We need help from the state in hopefully educating drivers about this new law.”

To make sure they're following the law, drivers should leave more than one car length of space between the front of their parked car and a crosswalk; many of the most popular sedans and small SUVs are about 15 feet long.

To complicate things further, cities and counties can, in some instances, allow parking closer to the crosswalk than permitted by state law — or extend the no-parking zone further away from crosswalks. In those cases, state law requires the parking restrictions to be marked.

Patch reached out to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation about the city's policies and plans in light of the new law, a spokesman offered the following response:

"LADOT installs red curb or 'No Stopping' parking signs in advance of all Stop signs and marked crosswalks as a matter of standard practice. The new 'daylighting' law will require additional red curb or 'No Stopping' restrictions near intersections that are not controlled by a traffic signal or stop sign where there are unmarked crosswalks.

"LADOT will proactively install additional red curb or 'No Stopping' signs at locations where there is a history of pedestrian collisions, and any time crews perform other scheduled work at all other unmarked intersections. New red curbs required by this law will reduce parking on each leg of an uncontrolled intersection by approximately two spaces, and LADOT is currently reviewing how many intersections will be impacted citywide."

There's still time for a boost in public awareness: This year, jurisdictions can only issue written warnings to motorists who park too close to a crosswalk in situations where the parking restriction is not noted by a sign or a red curb. Citations will begin being issued on Jan. 1, 2025.

The new law will mean the loss of thousands of parking spots across California. San Francisco transportation officials estimate that the law impacts about 5 percent of the city's 275,500 on-street parking spaces, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

California joins 43 other states that have daylighting laws on the books, according to state data.