It has been a few months since the San Diego Police Department began enforcing the statewide \u201cdaylighting\u201d parking law within the city of San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The law states that drivers cannot park within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, and it is intended to provide more visibility for drivers and pedestrians near crosswalks and to prevent collisions. However, since March 1, when tickets began to be issued, there has been confusion among community members because many curbs are not marked red to signal \u201cno parking.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where Haylee Rea and Kyle Walker with Strong Towns San Diego come in.<\/p>\n
The pair was seen using roller brushes, lathered with red chalk, to mark curbs on Sunday in the Kensington neighborhood as a way to make drivers aware of the daylighting law. Rea told NBC 7 they are in support of it and feel it is essential to creating a safer San Diego, but, she added, it would certainly help if curbs were marked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the size of San Diego, it\u2019s just not possible to get all of the streets painted in time, so we took action and we are using chalk and education materials to do it ourselves,\u201d said Rea, the group\u2019s strategy and mobilization leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can\u2019t just be done by our city council. They can\u2019t do it alone. They require all of us to go outside and to actually take action,\u201d added Walker, the group\u2019s research and policy lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rea explained to NBC 7 that Strong Towns San Diego has chalked curbs before, primarily around schools and places where children are likely to be crossing the street. When NBC 7 asked if they had talked with the city of San Diego about their efforts, Rea said \u201cno official word\u201d had been given but that \u201cthey try to play by their rules\u201d and \u201cthey don\u2019t want to step on any toes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn Normal Heights, for example, there’s a crosswalk in the middle of a block, where the curb on one side of the crosswalk is red, but the other side has only a small sliver painted, reports NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
NBC 7 reached out to the city for their response. Anthony Santacroce, a supervising public information officer, sent the following statement:\u00a0<\/p>\n
“More than 16,000 intersections across the City are impacted by AB-413, and many don’t have red curbs or signage indicating a no-parking zone. The City began evaluating and implementing red curbs at high-priority intersections in Downtown, Uptown, and Mid-Center last year. We have evaluated more than 700 intersections and painted red curbs or installed signage at more than 100 locations.<\/p>\n
“The City’s Transportation Department will continue to evaluate and paint red curbs Citywide to guide parking behavior and support understanding of this new law. The evaluations and implementation of curbs and red curbs require significant employee resources to implement and are not required by California state law. We will continue curb evaluations with consideration of the limited staffing and funding resources the City has to account for 16,000 intersections.<\/p>\n
“While we appreciate the community’s concern for the increased safety and visibility at San Diego’s intersections, painting curbs in the right-of-way is against City code.”<\/p>\n