How Well Will San Francisco’s Daylighting Program Work?

In a piece for Streetsblog San Francisco, Roger Rudick writes that San Francisco’s new ‘daylighting’ policy — which prohibits vehicles from parking within 20 feet of an intersection as a safety measure — could be “setting itself up for failure” by relying only on painted curbs — if that — to indicate where drivers are not allowed to park.

In Hoboken, New Jersey, a city that hasn’t had a traffic death in seven years, daylighting includes “protective infrastructure” such as planters and concrete barriers that physically block drivers from parking in prohibited areas. “Hoboken, and New York City, have actually reduced fatal and serious crashes and saved lives not just by writing citations, but, in many cases, by making it impossible in the first place to park near a crosswalk.”

Rudick notes that protective infrastructure is much more effective than paint and citations. “Boulders, bricks, and concrete blocks are not expensive. Unlike parking enforcement officers, they don't take breaks and don't discriminate. They also effectively block city vehicles, delivery drivers, and others undeterred by the threat of fines.”