Traffic Panel Urges Tickets for Parking on Sidewalks

A decades-old tradition of may end if city officials accept a recommendation, made Thursday night by the Traffic & Safety Commission, to direct police to begin ticketing for the illegal practice.

The commission discussed the issue Thursday in relation to several Albany Hill streets , driven by congested parking conditions and narrow winding streets that leave little room to manoever. 

Neighbors say, in many spots on Albany Hill, traditional street parking has led to countless broken side mirrors, and sometimes more severe property damage. Speeding and crowded conditions have led many neighbors to park on sidewalks both to protect property and ensure that emergency vehicles and garbage trucks can pass through. 

The has admitted that officers  on sidewalks because they understand that neighbors feel there simply isn't space to follow parking regulations, which prohibit sidewalk parking.

But pedestrian advocates have begun speaking out against vehicles parking, and sometimes driving, on sidewalks, which forces pedestrians, parents with strollers, small children and those in wheelchairs into the narrow streets. 

The  began discussing this issue in February, and took action Nov. 3.

The commission cannot itself direct policy changes, said city staff, but three of its four members voted Thursday to ask the to direct police to begin enforcing Vehicle Code rules that prohibit parking on sidewalks.

Commissioners John Miki and Bernard Knapp, along with Chairman Ken McCroskey Wait, voted in favor of the motion, which would ask police to ticket in response to complaints from residents, rather than in a blanket-enforcement type of approach.

Commissioner Lubov Mazur was not in attendance, but voiced her support for immediate ticket enforcement via email, which was read into the record by a city staffer.

Lt. John Geissberger of the said, if police did change their approach to enforcement, they would have to do it city-wide, rather than simply targetting a single neighborhood, in order to be fair.

Commissioner Ray Anderson voted against the motion.

About 20 neighbors spoke during the public comment section of the evening devoted to this agenda item. Many said that parking on sidewalks was their only safe option. They shared ideas for making their streets safer, and asked for a comprehensive approach to addressing traffic problems in the neighborhood.

All four commissioners voted earlier in the evening to request city staff to enlist the help of a traffic engineer to look at solutions to slow drivers, diminish cut-through traffic and possibly consider red-curbing certain areas on the hill to ensure there's enough room for oversized vehicles to manoever. 

Anderson, in voting against the recommendation to begin ticketing, said it would be more reasonable to wait for the engineering study rather than rush to action. 

But the other commissioners responded that it could then take at least nine months before they could address pedestrian and disabled access to sidewalks on the hill. 

"The way you're describing it now, people are speeding and kids are in the street," said Miki.

"We have to do something," replied McCroskey Wait.

"When I hear about people's car mirrors being taken off, as we are now, and pedestrians in the street, we really have to do something," said Knapp. "We can't wait for more studies."

There was no indication Thursday of when the City Council might be able to consider the commission's recommendation.

Want updates when we write future stories related to parking? Click the green "Keep me posted" button below.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.