New Daylighting Law Protects California Cyclists

As cities continue to implement measures that improve safety for cyclists, they’re increasingly turning to a practice known as “daylighting” to enhance visibility at an intersection and decrease the likelihood of a dangerous collision between a driver and other road users.

In some San Francisco neighborhoods, daylighting is already a common practice, although it may not always be recognizable to the untrained eye – this demonstrates that it can be both an attractive and effective option for improving safety in the city.

Daylighting is set to become even more prevalent with a new state law that went into effect in California earlier this year.

What is daylighting? 

Daylighting can take different forms, but the idea is that it works to remove objects near intersections so that pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle drivers can better see each other. With better sight lines, it’s easier to avoid dangerous collisions.

In some instances, large concrete bump outs or flexible bollards are installed, or parking is prohibited within so many feet from the intersection. Some communities have gotten creative, installing flower beds in the bump outs or allowing restaurants to put up outdoor dining sheds close to the curb. The bottom line is that daylighting slows traffic and “brightens” the intersection.

“For pedestrians, daylighting means that they don’t have to venture into the intersection and peek around parked cars to see if they have a clear path to cross. This is especially important for children, who are less visible at intersections. At the same time, drivers get a clearer view of the intersection and can easily see if someone is waiting to cross from well in advance,” the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) explains.

Daylighting can be an especially cost-effective measure with impressive results. In Hoboken, New Jersey, where there hasn’t been a cycling death in more than seven years, there was a 30% decrease in pedestrian injuries following the implementation of daylighting.

The same is true in San Francisco. Eighty intersections in the Tenderloin, a high-crash area, saw a 14% decrease in reported collisions when daylighting was implemented, according to SFMTA. The agency says that the intersection of Geary and Taylor streets experienced the greatest reductions in collisions after daylighting treatments.

Measures can vary from city to city depending on what works best for the community.

“What works in Boston may not work in San Francisco: Some cities require more enforcement than others, for example, while certain intersections are more dense or wide, requiring a different set of strategies,” Bloomberg writes.

New California law increases the practice 

As of Jan. 1, 2024, it’s now illegal in the state of California to park within 20 feet of the approach of a crosswalk. Assembly Bill 413, which was passed in October 2023, is similar to laws in approximately 40 other states that cement the practice of daylighting.

Language in the California law specifies:

• Vehicles cannot stop or park within 20 feet of the approach of a marked or unmarked crosswalk or 15 feet of any crosswalk with a curb extension.
• On a two-way street, only the space approaching a crosswalk on the right-side of the driver is affected. However, on a one-way street, both the left and the right curb areas 20 feet from the crosswalk are no parking zones.
• Local jurisdictions may paint zones that are longer or shorter than 20 feet. A red curb or parking prohibition sign next to a crosswalk should signify the distance. If there is no paint or signs, the 20 feet distance applies. 20 feet is about the length of a standard parking space or one large car-length.

In San Francisco, parking enforcement will issue warnings for parking or stopping in the mandated daylighting area until January 1, 2025. From then onward, violators will receive a citation.

What Bay Area residents can expect to change

SFMTA has been working on a daylighting plan for the High Injury Network — the 12% of city streets that account for 68% of severe and fatal traffic crashes — since 2019 when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution urging the agency to do so. Their goal was to complete the project by the end of 2024.

SFMTA generally kept daylighting to 10 feet, opposed to the now-mandated 20 feet, so San Francisco drivers will see those areas expanded. As a result, parking meters within that 20 foot distance will disappear, eliminating thousands of street parking spots across the city.

In some areas, curbs may be painted red in the “no park” zone, but it isn’t a requirement of the law, so it’s best to be mindful about that. 20 feet is about the length of one average parking spot.

“When visiting other countries and states, you may now find that they too have had Assembly Bill 413-type parking rules. So now, whether you are traveling in or out of California, always exercise care when parking near crosswalks and intersections,” SFMTA advises.