By Anonymous OBcean
Dear representatives of Councilmember Campbell and Mayor Gloria,
I am writing to express my outrage after receiving a citation under San Diego’s “daylighting” parking enforcement near an unmarked crosswalk.
This law, as currently enforced, functions as a trap. There are no signs, no painted curbs, and no visible warnings to alert drivers that parking is prohibited. Residents and visitors are expected to somehow know they must remain 20 feet from an invisible, unmarked crosswalk. That is not reasonable governance — it is punitive and predatory.
Public safety should never be implemented through gotcha enforcement. If pedestrian visibility is truly the priority, then the City should first ensure that every affected curb is clearly marked and properly signed. Instead, the City appears to be issuing tickets in areas where no ordinary driver would have any idea they are in violation. That creates the unavoidable impression that this is less about safety and more about revenue.
I supported both of you in past elections because I believed in your leadership. Policies like this — enforced without adequate notice — severely damage that trust. I cannot in good conscience continue supporting elected officials who allow residents to be cited under rules that are neither clearly communicated nor visibly marked.
The City should immediately suspend enforcement until proper signage and curb painting are installed. Failing to do so not only undermines public confidence but invites serious legal scrutiny, including the potential for a class action challenge based on lack of fair notice.
San Diego residents deserve transparency and fairness — not hidden enforcement zones.
Standing 20 feet back from future support.
Ocean Beach resident and proud contributor to the city’s unmarked crosswalk awareness fund
You are required to know the laws. I have an unpainted curb in front of a hydrant outside my house. I know how far to stay away. You also can be cited for parking in a driveway obstructing a sidewalk. Fun facts.
Wow Chris, you said something I fully agree with. Hell has opened a Winter resort.
What a dumb and pathetic whine.
1. This is a CA law and not SD specific.
2. I bet you cramp your tires when you park on a hill in OB even when there is no sign to do so, right? You manage because you know the traffic rules and follow them, even without a sign. “Daylighting” is no different.
Just learn the new traffic laws, all drivers have to, and stop trying to blame the mayor for your ignorance.
Your point about it being a State law and not a local ordinance may seem on point but it is not. Other jurisdictions, including the city/county of San Francisco, have declined to enforce the daylight ordinance until the curbs are painted red. Simple, direct and respectful of its citizens.
I would also point out that in the days leading to the beginning of enforcement in San Diego, we were told by the City that the law would be enforced but that there would not be parking enforcement of the law in residential areas. On day three of enforcement one of our our cars, on a residential street in OB, was ticketed.
The same announcement was made again a month or two ago, but I’m not falling for that “Lucy with the football” trick that always gets Charlie Brown. To quote former president George W. Bush, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
By the way, this law seems to only be a way of punishing us for not being able to accurately visualize what 20 feet looks like.
You also have to be able to visualize 15 feet around hydrants, 18″ to a curb, 500 feet behind an emergency vehicle….
Please stop driving if this is too difficult for you.
Fire hydrant distance. Also taught in basic drivers education.
And if you take drivers ed now it’s also taught.
You probably got your license before car seats were mandatory, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to use them.
Mel, I’m happy that you feel it is appropriate to make a comment about my driving ability without knowing anything about me. Yes, I know it is 15 feet around a hydrant but they are almost universally marked by red curbs. And you tell me how often you see people giving 500 feet behind an emergency vehicle. I believe that this is very, very rare in our society, in fact many follow directly behind an emergency vehicle.
My point is that other jurisdictions actually appear to care about their citizens and take steps to inform them, by painting curbs red, about the legal distance to the crosswalk. Our city leaders do not seem to care about us, only about how to generate revenue – trash fees, daylight law, parking in Balboa Park, etc.
What a dumb and pathetic reply.
1. I don’t care that it’s a state bill. The City is writing the tickets and collecting the money for their general fund. They should challenge the law or help out their citizens and visitors by providing proper signage.
2. Cramping your tires is something taught in basic driver’s education. Staying 20 feet back from unmarked phantom crosswalks is not. Especially if you’re an unsuspecting visitor/tourist, this is not common knowledge.
Your logic is completely flawed and oddly cruel. You’re probably the person going around reporting your neighbors about this total bs law on Get It Done.
Also I’m not the sole complainer about this stupid law…. So apparently there’s a lot of “dumb, pathetic whiners” you get to go attack. Have fun!
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-daylighting-law-enforcement/3912934/?amp=1
Have you taken basic driver’s ed since the law was passed. I’m guessing not. I am confident they update driver’s ed based on current laws and don’t just teach the ones in place in the 80s.
So you may want to also check out the new laws for 2026. For example: “Slow Down, Move Over” — AB 390 (Wilson) – Expands the requirement that a driver approaching a stationary vehicle slow down and move over to include any stationary vehicles, including marked highway maintenance vehicles and those displaying flashing hazard lights or another warning device.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/news-and-media/dmv-highlights-new-laws-in-2026/
Guess what?! I was once a tourist from Germany taking a road trip in California . I did a great thing, I read up on the rules of the road in California beforehand. Information is power. Regarding the daylight parking rule, it’s been in existence in Germany forever (was part of my drivers ed); so I have a leg up on that one, and I may be biased. I think it’s a good rule, also in front of “zebra stripe” crossings (which as opposed to over here seem to function without a hazard blink light button in other parts of the world). That said, I tend to see part of your point in referring to the picture you posted with your article, I wonder where the pedestrian crossing is? If on foot, am I meant to stumble through the plants in the PROW at the risk of stepping in some accidentally left behind dog turd? Maybe the pedestrian infrastructure needs to be elevated along with the introduction of first world traffic rules in this City.
Mel, this is a punishment for locals and visitors, without proper signage, and essentially a revenue stream for a city that cannot maintain itself. This ordinance is destined for court.
By that logic so is cramping wheels.
That’s not a law everywhere either and there are no signs.
I got a ticket for the same thing in Dallas two years ago. Long before the daylight law in California. When I was complaining to some friends who were all from different states, they told me they were surprised it wasn’t a law in California as it was in all of their states. Maybe it’s a case of California catching up instead of leading the way.
CA AB 413
“While some cities have begun to remove parking spots, pull out meters, paint curbs red or otherwise fill daylighted spots, they don’t actually have to do so under the law. Which means it’s up to California drivers to recognize an illegal daylighted spot and stay out of it, even if the spot looks perfectly available, with no red curb.”
KQED article February 14, 2025
This has been a statewide law since Jan of last year, tho the Bay Area has been more lax about enforcement:
https://www.kqed.org/news/12019725/daylighting-laws-will-be-enforced-in-the-bay-area-in-2025-heres-how-to-avoid-a-ticket
Bottom line, it’s the responsibility of residents and visitors to know the law.
You’re not up on current law. If a resident / visitor is unaware of a parking rule and there are no signs to advise / warn them, then they cannot be held accountable. Plenty of drivers unaware of rules and there’s inadequate signage, have their tickets thrown out if they contest them. Speaking as a retired lawyer.
First of all the rant is appropriate–the enforcement is arbitrary and the ability to decide the parameters of the parking law are almost impossible to discern–even if you look at the law and the less than adequate explanations (unlike parking on a hill although I have heard cases where they ticketed for parking on a flat without curbed wheels). So what are we supposed to know intuitively about these laws–carry a tape measure to measure from an unspecified place or carry a protractor to determine the angle of the street? Please–these are revenue efforts. Yes, the so called “daylight” law is state but how the city implements it is local and they were not interested until we turned them down for an unspecified tax increase to save them from their inability to balance the budget which is part of their job. Back to the “can see Russia from my parking place.” This is a “one size fits all–downtown and old neighborhoods) and makes no sense in many locations because parked cars would make no difference for pedestrians. Finally, be careful what we ask for because the city is randomly painting curbs red (20′). Random–on our corner (and others I’ve noticed) they only painted three corners (four way stop) and they have started the 20′ measure well above any real or imagined crosswalk and have managed to reduce or eliminate yet more legal parking–this on top of their boondoggle paid parking which will drive more people to park in the neighborhoods (yes, I know it’s public parking-that’s not my point.) So, another rant to bitch about.