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Find SF parking cops

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Re: Find SF parking cops

#111

Post by rahimnathwani »

scottbez1 wrote: post #77
aidenn0 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it illegal to block bike lanes in SF? I ask because it is not illegal to do so in California, according to the learner's permit test my daughter recently took.

The DMV is unfortunately wrong about this, with an invalid interpretation of CVC - the DMV handbook is NOT the law (it's a simplistic layman's interpretation), and is not a valid legal defense. That said, in SF proper it's absolutely inarguably illegal as a violation called "Obstructing traffic" in the SF transportation code. A bike lane is an active travel lane for vehicles as defined under the CVC (including bicycl…

  I've had drivers cited for this in the past.
I'm curious how you've managed to achieve this?

I haven't found SF311 very responsive to requests related to illegal parking. Even if they respond, wouldn't the car be gone by the time they show up?

Re: Find SF parking cops

#112

Post by JumpCrisscross »

sugarpimpdorsey wrote: post #103
lawlessone wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Wonders why shelves are empty when delivery drivers can't park their trucks anywhere uh don't big shops usually have truck ports?

Maybe he had to use the restroom in an emergency? I'd prefer people delivering my goods and handling my food park illegally in a bike lane and use a restroom like a civilized person rather than being forced to go in a Gatorade bottle before handing me my sandwich.

> Maybe he had to use the restroom in an emergency?

So the premise is made up.

> I'd prefer people delivering my goods and handling my food park illegally in a bike lane and use a restroom like a civilized person rather than being forced to go in a Gatorade bottle

Sure. And they get a ticket. This is a feeble argument.

Re: Find SF parking cops

#114

Post by andrepd »

bahmboo wrote: post #86
scottbez1 wrote: post #61

Incredible work. I'm disappointed to see so many of the leaderboard items are street cleaning tickets. I get it - street cleaning are "easy" tickets to write in bulk, and therefore efficient ROI for PCO time, but they're not the most important violations to cite compared to safety-critical things like blocked bike lanes (which SFMTA has an official policy to completely ignore citizen reports thereof), double-parking,…

Where should the delivery trucks park if there is no infrastructure for them and the public has an ever increasing appetite for delivered products? Try to think about it from the delivery drivers point of view and their safety. The roads are not any one users exclusive resource. We all pay for them and they must be shared.

Bike lanes reduce the number of cars on the road and therefore make it easier for vehicles that are actually necessary (delivery, work, emergency, etc) to travel and park, not harder. So do all viable alternatives to driving. That in 2025 people still unironically say "just one more lane bro, and we'll solve traffic" is almost unbelievable.

Re: Find SF parking cops

#115

Post by tjohns »

aidenn0 wrote: post #49
spankalee wrote: post #43

It would be great to see more automatic payment and enforcement. It's great that buses can issue tickets for blocking bus lanes, but I would absolutely love for their to be more automatic enforcement of blocking bike lanes and meter violations. I'm not in SF a lot these days, but I have noticed some particularly fancy parking meters that at least have tap-to-pay and might have more. Instead of a ticket, you should ju…

Is it illegal to block bike lanes in SF? I ask because it is not illegal to do so in California, according to the learner's permit test my daughter recently took.

If so, then the DMV test is (presumably) wrong. California Vehicle Code §21211 says it's generally illegal to block a bike lane:

"No person may place or park any bicycle, vehicle, or any other object upon any bikeway or bicycle path or trail, as specified in subdivision (a), which impedes or blocks the normal and reasonable movement of any bicyclist unless the placement or parking is necessary for safe operation or is otherwise in compliance with the law."

https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-21211/

CVC §21209 says that you can park in a bike lane only if parking is otherwise permitted (e.g. it's a marked parking spot).

https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-21209/

SF city code also lists it as a separate parking infraction: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/s...

Checking the DMV handbook, their description is similar. They say "it is illegal to drive in a bicycle lane unless you are parking (where permitted)" - plus turning or entering/exiting the road. [Source: CA Driver's Handbook, pp. 17, emphasis mine]

Re: Find SF parking cops

#117

Post by JumpCrisscross »

mc32 wrote: post #102
lawlessone wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Wonders why shelves are empty when delivery drivers can't park their trucks anywhere uh don't big shops usually have truck ports?

Safeway? Sure. Mom-and-Pops? Not usually. How are small restaurants going to get their ingredients delivered if delivery trucks can’t park? Ok maybe in some locations they can park a few blocks away and deliver with hand trucks —but then they risk taking much more time to deliver and going back to a broken-in truck or van.

> How are small restaurants going to get their ingredients delivered if delivery trucks can’t park?

The only city where this is a problem is New York, because we don’t have alleys in our densest neighbourhoods. And in New York, our solution is for folks to park illegally and the meter maids to print tickets which are treated as a business expense.

In San Francisco, park in an alley, deliver at night, or park away from the site and use a scooter or whatnot to make the last mile. (Or eat the ticket.)

Re: Find SF parking cops

#118

Post by sugarpimpdorsey »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #112
sugarpimpdorsey wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he had to use the restroom in an emergency? I'd prefer people delivering my goods and handling my food park illegally in a bike lane and use a restroom like a civilized person rather than being forced to go in a Gatorade bottle before handing me my sandwich.

> Maybe he had to use the restroom in an emergency? So the premise is made up. > I'd prefer people delivering my goods and handling my food park illegally in a bike lane and use a restroom like a civilized person rather than being forced to go in a Gatorade bottle Sure. And they get a ticket. This is a feeble argument.

[flagged]

Re: Find SF parking cops

#119

Post by [deleted] »

jonahx wrote: post #79

What's funny is secure IDs could have easily prevented this but, even if the city discovers it and wants to shut it down now, I'd bet actually fixing the system would be too costly (IDs tend to couple to everything).

[deleted]

Re: Find SF parking cops

#120

Post by scottbez1 »

deathanatos wrote: post #96
sugarpimpdorsey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

SF has dedicated commercial loading zones, for large deliveries. (Or, for some of the larger buildings, they just have an underground or partially underground loading dock.) For things like Uber, yes, one would need to find a parking spot, not park in an active lane of traffic ¹. If either are insufficient, people are free to lobby for more, where they are needed. (¹and as bike lanes are not wide enough to accommodat…

Your last point is one of the most frustrating things with unprotected bike lanes - drivers will endanger bicyclists for no real gain when they park in the bike lane because the car lane is also still blocked! Somehow they prefer to block 2 active travel lanes instead of just one.
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