Don't Pay the SF Parking Meters on First Three Sundays in January 2013 - No Parking Tickets, Only Reminders

Photo: SFMTA

As you may be aware, the city will start enforcing city parking meters on Sundays from 12 Noon to 6PM starting in January.

This means for us citizens, no more scoring free parking at meters all-day on Sunday, but you still can park for free in the city before 12 noon in the city.  It's still a perfect time for me to handle my Sunday morning haircuts and morning runs to pick up cheap dim sum because I don't have to pay the meter.

But... after reading the SFMTA's press release about this matter, something seemed kinda odd.  For the first three Sundays in January, SFMTA meter maids won't be issuing parking tickets for violators not paying the meter; instead, they will be just leaving a kind reminder for people to pay.

Directly quoted from the SFMTA: "On January 6, 13 and 20, Parking Control Officers will issue reminders, not citations, on cars at expired meters."

So this basically means, I can still park for free for the first three Sundays in January, and all I might get is a kind notice saying, "please do pay."  Odd, isn't it?

Reminder: This policy about getting courtesy notices doesn't affect meters operated by the Port of San Francisco or nearby Fisherman's Wharf (meters that are enforced everyday, including holidays).  You should still pay the meter on the first three Sundays.

Here's another interesting fact about the meter policy change: City meters with a one hour maximum limit (Monday-Saturday) will be all changed to a two hour maximum.  All meters for Sunday enforcement will be a maximum of four hours.  I'm assuming "green head" meters will remain with a very short time limit of 30 minutes or less.

For more information about Sunday enforcement, click here.

Don't Freak Out: Don't Pay the Meters on Sundays (For Now)

The city is already starting to update the parking meters with new signage stating Sunday parking will be enforced in the city from 12 Noon to 6PM.

But wait... before you start feeding coins into that meter, you should read the other side of the meter that says Sunday enforcement is effective January 1, 2012.

I took a picture of this meter on Portola, nearby the Round Table Pizza.

Why 12-4PM enforcement on Sundays?  Local church leaders asked the city not to enforce prior to 12 so their members can attend church without fear of being ticketed.  As for me, I can still score free parking before noon to get a haircut.

Also, the meter I looked at says the maximum amount of time you can feed a meter is double the time of the regular Monday-Friday maximum.  I'm not sure if this 2X policy will be effective in neighborhoods with major parking problems (e.g. Noriega, Irving, and Clement).

Also, be aware that meters within the jurisdiction of the Port of San Francisco, including near Fisherman's Wharf operate 7 days a week, including holidays; so if it's Sunday and you are parked nearby the Famous Bushman, make sure to feed the meter.

Sunday Streets Changes Route, Still Forces Muni's 18-46th Avenue to take 51-Block Detour

Sunday Streets in Golden Gate Park and the length of the Upper Great Highway is happening this Sunday, and hopefully the weather will be cooperative.

But once again, Sunday Streets organizers are forcing Muni to waste time and extra gas for one of my favorite lines, the 18-46th Avenue.

Why? The 18 line must cross through Sunday Streets at Great Highway in order to make it to the opposite side of Golden Gate Park. But if the Sunday Streets organizers don’t allow the line to cut through the event’s route, the bus line is forced to take a 51 block (10-15 minute) detour via 25th & Fulton (northern side) and 19th Avenue & Lincoln (southern side).

Regular route of the 18:

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Re-route due to Sunday Streets:

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When I saw the Sunday Streets map for this Sunday’s event (PDF document), they made an event route modification to not use Great Highway between Lincoln & Fulton, and I felt this was a success from my previous blog entry complaining about the issue with the 18 line. The new route map only cuts through one short city block from Lower Great Highway & Lincoln to Upper Great Highway & Lincoln (less than 500 feet), which would make it possible for the 18 bus to make a minor cut through the event route.

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But the old Sunday Streets route (below) made it impossible for the 18 line to get through because it took a huge chunk (half a mile) of the Great Highway (from JFK drive to Lincoln).

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Muni hasn’t confirmed a re-route for the 18, but Sunday Streets believes the 51 block re-route will be in effect. I ask Sunday Streets and Muni to allow the bus line to briefly cut through the new Sunday Streets route so it doesn’t drastically effect their on-time schedule and wasting the taxpayer’s gasoline for a totally wasteful 51 block reroute.

If the 44 line can cut through the Golden Gate Park road shutdown every Sunday to go north & south, why can’t the 18 also get an exception for this event?

Would You Support Sunday Meter Enforcement?

Parking meters in San Francisco. Yeah, you know those meters, the ones that a quarter only gives you eight measly minutes and you always have to keep a fat roll of quarters in your car. Or for you suckers who parks in downtown or those new “smart” meters, you get much less time for that 25 cents.

But if you are familiar with what’s going on now, this could be the moment when you’ll jump out of your chair and cheer or get really pissed.

Would you support Sunday meter enforcement?

It’s a difficult decision for the city to make. In one point of view, no meter enforcement on Sunday has been a tradition in our city, except around Fisherman’s Wharf where the Port of SF loves tourist pocket change 7-days a week, including holidays. In another point of view, the SFMTA is broke and needs money, and a bunch of churches are against the idea.

Here’s my thoughts about it. I’m really undecided if I would support it or not:

In support of Sunday meters:
Parking in popular neighborhoods is so bad on Sundays, you literally have to circle the block several times until you get lucky to score a parking space. Have you ever tried parking on Irving Street between 19th and 26th Avenues? It’s pure hell on Sundays; you have to make a choice, either park there before 9AM and do your shopping, or take a risk during the rest of the day to get parking while vultures are double parking just waiting several minutes for some car to back-out. At least with meter enforcement, cars keep going in and out of parking stalls all day long and that means a better shot for people to get their business done; this also means that businesses can get more brisk business on Sundays, instead of cars parked in a stall for more than a few hours.

Not in support:
Why is the SFMTA broke? Because the system is broken and their hairbrained ideas suck. We shouldn’t pay for the meters just to feed the wallets of SFMTA employees. It’s the same as raising parking ticket penalties, the MTA thinks it’s a good way to raise more money to fix their bloody red budget. If the agency stopped wasting money on stupid projects, such as the Rose Pak (Central) Subway, and giving out free Muni rides to all of SF’s youth, maybe this agency can stop leaching off our wallets. The more the SFMTA wants to take more money from our wallets, the citizens will get their revenge on election day with ballot measures to kick the agency’s ass.

It’s really a tough choice to make; break tradition to make more money and keep cars moving, or continue to maintain tradition. I’d support Sunday meters if the SFMTA can make an effort to provide improved public transit choices, like running limited bus lines like the 38L on Sundays.