California Assembly Bill 413, which took effect on Jan. 1, prohibits cars from parking within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk. This prohibition, known as California’s daylighting law, is designed to improve visibility at intersections and increase safety for bikers and pedestrians. The San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency (SFMTA) predicts that the law will result in the elimination of an estimated 14,000 street parking spaces in San Francisco — about 5% of the city’s total parking.
California’s pedestrian fatality rate is nearly 25% higher than the national average, according to KQED. Despite this, California is one of the last 10 states to implement daylighting laws. “This daylighting law is implemented in about 40 states, and California is pretty late to the party,” Bike Club co-leader Mason Hoyt ’26 said. “It’s gonna be harder to own a car in San Francisco, … [but] at some point in everyone’s life, they are a pedestrian. So it’s important to make it safe to be a pedestrian.”
Many cities implement additional measures to prevent parking in daylighting zones. According to a 2023 Bloomberg article, some cities place bike racks near street corners in place of painted curbs. Others have added curb extensions and medians to various intersections.
While many see daylighting as a necessary safety measure, the law poses an added challenge for San Francisco drivers when it comes to finding parking spots. Bike Club co-leader Talula Rogers ’26 said, “I’m a little bit conflicted about [daylighting] because on one hand, I’m a pedestrian and a cyclist. But I also drive, and there’s already not enough parking in San Francisco.”
Not all parties support SFMTA withdrawing the $40 fines. While city officials scaled back enforcement due to pushback about inconsistent street markings, pedestrian and cyclist safety advocates expressed concerns regarding potentially weaker enforcement of the daylighting law. “In order for [daylighting] to be effective in making intersections safer and saving lives, San Francisco needs to start enforcing it for anyone who parks within 20 feet of a crosswalk, to start setting the expectation across the whole city,” said Claire Amable, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s director of advocacy, in a statement in a San Francisco Chronicle article.
Cars parked in daylighting zones at red-painted curbs will still receive $108 tickets. Additionally, SFMTA transportation planners plan to paint all daylighting zones red within the next 18 months — far sooner than the initially proposed four to five years. “Daylighting makes everyone safer. But it can only work if drivers know about it,” said Marta Lindsey, communications director at Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian safety advocacy group, in an interview with The Urban Legend.
According to Lindsey, the recent increases in road vehicle size make daylighting crucial for traffic safety. “The average American passenger vehicle is now eight inches taller than it was three decades ago — making it more difficult for drivers to see around vehicles at intersections,” she said.
An obstructed view can make roads more dangerous for bikers as well as drivers and pedestrians. “I’ve been road biking for about five years, and I’ve come close to being hit by a car — as in within five inches — probably about 50 times. So that’s about 10 times a year,” Rogers said.
Daylighting will likely make parking in the city more difficult, but its implementation is predicted to reduce annual pedestrian deaths in San Francisco. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, daylighting can reduce traffic crashes by 30%. “Forty-two people were killed in traffic crashes in 2024 in San Francisco — the highest number since 2007 — [and] more than 500 people were seriously injured,” Lindsey said. “Every solution possible is needed to make our streets safer.”