Vigilantes have painted several curbs red in the Richmond, in what appears to be an effort to accelerate enforcement of the new “daylighting” law.
A resident told The Standard he may have spotted the culprits at the corner of 19th Avenue and Balboa Street. The resident, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, called police just after midnight on Jan. 14 after hearing loud noises outside his window and spotting four people who attempted to hide when a car drove by.
“I thought they might have been stealing a catalytic converter,” the man said.
Cops confirmed that officers were sent to investigate “multiple suspicious people” in the area, but they didn’t find any.
The next morning, the caller and his neighbors found that two curbs on the intersection had been painted red. Over the next couple of days, neighbors discovered several other newly painted red curbs — including at 17th and 18th avenues.
They figured the SF Municipal Transit Agency was enforcing the daylighting law.
The law, which took effect Jan. 1, prohibits parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk in an effort to make pedestrians more visible to drivers. The transit agency is issuing warnings to drivers who park in daylighting zones but plans to start issuing fines after March 1.
The guerilla tactic appears to have worked, as people avoided parking there, according to doorbell camera footage seen by The Standard. It’s not the first time San Franciscans have taken parking issues into their own hands. Excelsior residents are known to use cones to save spots. Elsewhere in the city, others actively patrol the streets and report their neighbors to 311.
However, transit officials said they were not responsible for the curb painting and would send crews to fix the paint job.
Work crews were spotted at around 8 a.m. Thursday repainting a curb at 17th Street and Balboa Avenue, a neighbor told The Standard on condition of anonymity.
The Standard spoke with SFMTA painters near Balboa Street at around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Workers said the vigilantes used a brighter shade of red than is typical, which makes it easier for them to spot.
Painter Rob Berri said that a stencil was used to replicate the agency’s markings, and speculated as to whether the culprit had stolen an official stencil because of how similar it looks.
Transit officials did not respond when asked if tickets or warnings had been issued at the fake red curbs.
“The SFMTA is aware of a few locations where red zones were painted illegally by an unknown source,” spokesperson Michael Roccaforte said. “Responding to these incidents is stretching our resources thin and causing confusion among residents.”
Roccaforte said the agency plans to focus its limited resources around daylighting school zones before adding that the unofficial red zones not only wear quickly but extend beyond the regulated 20-foot distance.
Locals complained the act of resistance had made parking even more difficult in the area. The transit agency said residents should report suspicious markings to 311.
“I thought the city had done it,” said one neighbor. “I just assumed, because it looks pretty real.”