[Carfreeliving] sidewalk parking again

[David Baker]

there is this "grace" period for street cleaning where they don't ticket
sidewalk parkers for about an hour either side of the scheduled cleaning.
certainly in my neighborhood, with wide sidewalks and not too much traffic,
it's an accommodation i can live with.

db

On 1/25/06, Jason Henderson <jhenders at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> So the other day (Monday) I was riding on Page St and all kinds of cars
> were pulling up on the sidewalk to wait for the street cleaner (which
> was far away). Meanwhile there was a lot of pedestrian traffic forced
> into the street with a lot of idiotic speeding motorists rushing to get
> to the freeway ramp. This was also within two blocks of John Muir School
> and kids were walking to school(safe routes to what?) As I walked on, I
> came across a DPT officer ticketing a car parked in a regular parking
> space, and I asked if they would ticket cars on the sidewalk, especially
> the ones egregiously unattended. At first she would not respond to me
> because she was busy writing the ticket (took about 3 minutes and I was
> timing my commute to be on time). I waited a litle longer and she told
> me that they have an unofficial policy to not ticket cars on sidewalks
> when street sweeping. Ever heard of that? So basically you can move your
> car on the sidewalk and not get ticketed, but if you leave it on the
> street, you get a ticket.
>
> Then today I called in two large dooley-type double cab pickups
> completely blocking Haight sidewalk. I mean completely blocking the
> entire sidewalk, not half way. About an hour later, a DPT officer came
> and seemed to be buddy-buddy with the guys blocking the sidewalk. There
> were available parking spaces just about 20 feet away. Basically, one
> truck moved to block in the driveway and the other scooted in just
> enough for a single ped to squeeze by (no baby strollers will fit, etc).
> No ticket issued. The DPT guy even helped these guys move heavy
> materials and while they did this I counted about 6 people forced into
> the street to go around.
>
> Now, I called this back in just now, and dispatch said they would send
> somebody back out, but really, come on. Why do I have to call twice?
>
> Over the years I have taken a lot of time to make these calls and a lot
> of time stopping and trying to be diplomatic and follow the rules. I do
> not have enough time to follow up on this and every time this happens -
> which is every day.  Calling DPT seems futile. But I want the sidewalks
> clear because it is vital to a livable city and is about social justice
> for the elderly, children, and disabled. Yet look what happens when you
> do call.
>
> What exactly is the policy about sidewalk parking? Is it just a joke?
> Does this mean I can stand in the street and block traffic when there is
> a car blocking the sidewalk.
>
> By the way, I can't wait for the SFSU semester to start next week,
> becasue the Holloway bike lane becomes such a convenient standing area
> for cars. What a joke that is. I have wasted a lot of time calling about
> that too.
>
> -jh
>
>
>
> --
> "Make wetlands not war"
>
> Jason Henderson
> Native New Orleanian
> living in San Francisco
> Cell: (415)-425-5844
> Home: (415)-255-8136
>
>
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