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Regularly Scheduled Tow-Away Zone Map

Sidewalk and Driveway Parking

The practice of parking a vehicle parallel to the curb with all four wheels on the sidewalk and parking perpendicular in driveway areas blocking the width of the sidewalk is a serious and unsafe issue in many of the City's neighborhoods. This behavior creates a public safety hazard, forcing pedestrians--including those with strollers and in wheelchairs--into traffic lanes. Vehicles on sidewalks also degrade the appearance of our neighborhoods. The current $105 fine is meant to be a deterrent to this violation.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has heard from many residents who feel that they should not be penalized for parking in driveway areas fronting their property, if they leave a sufficient amount of space for complete pedestrian access. The SFMTA understands these concerns; however, under current state law (California Vehicle Code Section 22500f) Parking Control Officers do not have the authority to make this distinction.

Street Sweeping Enforcement

The Department of Public Works (DPW) cleans about ninety percent of San Francisco’s streets with mechanical sweepers. Generally, DPW sweeps residential streets weekly or twice per month and sweeps commercial areas at least once per week. In order to successfully sweep our streets, residents must move their cars so the mechanical sweepers can access the entire curb.

The SFMTA assists DPW by ticketing vehicles that are parked illegally, blocking mechanical sweepers.

Key Points:

The SFMTA does not tow vehicles for street sweeping violations.
Signs are posted on each applicable street or you can look up the DPW street sweeping schedule and more details on their website.
Locations that are swept twice monthly are scheduled by day not week. For example a street may be swept on the “1st and 3rd Monday” of each month. If the month were to start on a Tuesday, sweeping would occur on the 7th and 21st.
Check out Tips for Parking Legally to learn more about parking in San Francisco.

Information on Board of Supervisors hearing and meeting schedules is available from the Clerk of the Board at 415.554.5184.

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