A new California law set to take effect on January 1, 2025, will prohibit parking within 20 feet of intersections with marked or unmarked crosswalks—a practice known as “daylighting” that improves visibility for drivers and pedestrians. The law aims to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities by increasing sightlines at crosswalks. However, enforcing the new rule may prove challenging in San Diego, where more than 16,000 intersections are impacted, but updated signs or painted red curbs have only been installed at around 100 locations.
Drivers should be aware that the law allows enforcement even at intersections without updated signs or markings. Starting in March, the city will begin issuing $77.50 citations to violators after an initial two-month warning period.
“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,” said city spokesperson Anthony Santacroce. “The evaluations and implementation of curbs and red curbs require significant employee resources to implement.”
Some intersections already have red curbs that partially cover the new no-parking zones, but many do not. For reference, 20 feet is approximately one-and-a-half car lengths
Will Moore, policy counsel at the transportation nonprofit Circulate San Diego, highlighted the importance of the new law, noting California’s traffic fatalities are 25% higher than the national average.
“California decided it needed to come in line with the rest of the country because dozens of other states already have daylighting laws on the books,” Moore said. “The goals of the law are to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities and crashes with pedestrians and cars.”
San Diego drivers will need to stay vigilant as the city works to bring its intersections into compliance. For now, the responsibility lies with motorists to adhere to the new rule and help make streets safer for everyone.
