Parked near a crosswalk on Whittier Boulevard while picking up a 20-piece boneless wing combo? You might come back to find a $63 parking ticket on your windshield.
This month, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) began issuing citations for vehicles parked within 20 feet of crosswalks in compliance with California’s “daylighting” law.
What is AB 413, California’s “daylighting” law?
Assembly Bill 413, also known as the state’s “daylighting” law, passed in October 2023 and prohibits the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles within 20 feet of a crosswalk, and 15 feet of a crosswalk with a curb extension – even if there’s no warning sign or painted red curb.
The only exception to the rule is when it is “necessary to avoid traffic conflicts or in compliance with directions from a peace officer or an official traffic control device,” the bill states.
What will enforcement look like for me?
The law went into effect statewide on Jan. 1, 2024, but only warnings were issued at first – unless the violation occurred in a clearly marked area. That warning period ended this year, though enforcement has varied by area. L.A. city drivers already had a similar rule prohibiting stopping or parking within 25 feet of “the approach to the nearest line of a crosswalk,” so drivers there won’t see much change. The rest of L.A. County, however, is just now catching up.
LASD Parking Enforcement Detail began issuing citations on May 1. Tickets in unincorporated areas, including East L.A., start at $63, according to a spokesperson for LASD.
Why did California introduce “daylighting”?
“Daylighting” is a safety measure improving visibility at intersections by removing obstructions near crosswalks. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, the state has the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the nation, ranking 25% higher than the national average. The bill aims to address that by improving visibility for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists at intersections.
It would work if they enforced it. This is an issue in East L.A., especially near car repair shops. I have called and emailed Parking Enforcement. No one ever addresses the problem.
You should do an article on all the parking nightmares at the schools including Ford Boulevard Elementary. Parents double and triple park!
They had a whole year of warnings, but how about starting to paint the prohibited spaces? Clearly pedestrian safety is most important, but revenue from tickets is the bonus the government wants.
Shouldn’t need to paint the curb to use common sense. Crosswalk or not, shouldn’t be parking on a corner.
They should implement it for West Hollywood especially for those TNC Black SUVs. They always parked double and block traffic and no law enforcement does anything to clear the traffic
You should do one on how the parking enforcement, especially, in the city of Lynwood, target minorities with daily tickets to meet quotas. As it is there is no parking and they fine us for using areas that should be used.
In government the saying goes;
“It’s not what problems are solvable, it’s what problems are profitable”
They could’ve easily painted the curb red, but that costs money. Instead they profit off of the uninformed, like the wolves they are.
Great comment! It is all about money. They could easily paint 25′ of curb if it for safety. I guess it is easier to trap uninformed and collect $63. Let see how soon they will rase fine or add some fees.
How does 20 ft beyond/after a cross walk add pedestrian visibility? Go spend another billion on that study and rewriting the law. This is where your local tax dollars go. Studies through departments contractors, salaries and more consultants. That’s why there’s no money for paint, basic pot holes and broken sidewalks.
You’re not wrong about mismanagement, but this law is excellent. Only problem is it should be any corner, not just crosswalks.
Not sure if you’re being facetious or serious, but stand right up against the corner of a wall and stick your head around it and see how well you can be seen or seen around it. Then walk 25 ft down away from the corner and see how well you can be seen or see around it…
Great point. And too many potholes traumatizing my car & me in the area where I frequent once a week. For practical sake – and the local gov’t’s duty to be RESPECTFUL to drivers by providing warning; paint the 20-25 foot curb area red! Be fair! Stop the unjust, unkind, deceptive & exploitive money-machine!
Does traffic not come from 4 ways? No matter how you look at it, the area on all 4 corners should be clear, but it should be done with paint rather than tickets.
Do you know how many millions of dollars that would cost? It’s common sense for most folks: don’t park on a corner, crosswalk or not.
If the city or the country wants to enforce this law, clearly the red zone need to be marked to avoid anyone parking in this zone. Without that, this is invalid. They need to come up with solutions to parking.
Great quote!! I wasn’t to see statistics in 12 months….changing parking regulations isn’t going to change the actions of idiots. Pedestrians on their phones just walk into the street and get hit. Distracted drivers hit them. End of story. No one takes responsibility for their own actions.
They should enforce the double parking being done throughout Los Angeles.
Why hasn’t L.A. County painted the 20 / 25 zone if it’s so important for safety? Profit over safety 🙄
Please do this in the city of San Bernardino!!!! People block the crosswalks daily!!! People park on the round of the corner, breaking 2 laws!!
Meanwhile you have people who are taking over residential streets with their junkers, low riders, boats, RVs & trailers unmoved for months nobody cares.
Agree. They need to have both sides of street cleared once a week for street cleaning. Vehicle parked during sweeping get towed. Anything without registration and insurance stays impounded til caught up.
So you wanna discriminate against them because they have junkers or RVs? Where else are they supposed to park?
This is BS… Who’s measuring 20 ft if it’s not clearly marked? Just another tactic to squeeze more money from tax payers. Mark the areas of 20ft within any crosswalk and you can gain some credibility… Otherwise, ticket those who are obviously breaking the law…
Are they enforcing this on the West side too? Pedestrian fatalities have increased due to distracted drivers on their phone. They should enforce this and the city would make a ton of money!
We need MORE parking, not less! We do not need more parking banned, especially in Inglewood where it’s banned citywide and your car can be stolen in under 2 hours! Defund the corrupt sheriffs.
I didn’t even know there was a new law about this. Luckily I ran across this article, otherwise I’m sure I would of gotten a ticket for parking at the end of the block or beginning of the block. Question, I’m handicapped so does this law pertain to me?
Reading the comments, attend your city board meetings and bring up those safety issues. If nothing is brought up in a public hearing, they do nothing and someone gets injured or killed. After bringing up safety concerns, then those cities can be sued.
It’s not only about parking in L.A. Gavin, the horrible governor we have, how about fixing ALL the potholes in L.A.?? Driving up Fairfax was like going through a land mind field. I think the city should pay for all the vehicle damage from driving in L.A.!! And $63 for parking ticket is crazy if you forget to move your car in L.A.
You think the governor’s responsible for your city streets? Go talk to your city and county leaders. The state gives them money for that purpose. Stop blaming the governor for your city council’s faults. How many times have you picked up the phone to report a pot hole? If none, you’re the problem.
Newsom is not responsible for L.A. City streets. Talk to your mayor and city council.
It is easy just to fine drivers, but, are there any reserved places for pick up and drop off people? Frequently, Uber and Lyft drivers have to stop for a few minutes to wait for a person. The streets DO NOT HAVE any reserved place for these cases.
Just another way for the state to stick their hands in our pockets and steal from us. They allowed these cities to be overcrowded with people and vehicles and now they want to punish and tax us for their lack of civil planning and overpopulation.
Living in East L.A. & Boyle Heights areas for more than 40 years, I have seen where stop signs were moved back some and more and more cars parked to the point that people now double park to save parking spaces. The city and county should come up with a law that tickets double parked cars or issue parking permits for street parking, especially if you have multiple cars and choose not to park them in your driveway.
They only enforce what they want when they want. It’s all corrupt and about money. Tremendous homelessness and junky cars parked causing more crime. Soft on crime Newsom is to blame. There’s anarchy now. At least it’s not over 300 dollars for having your car towed like what happened to me in the SFV too many times.
I would like to see education and fines issued to pedestrian, bicycle and scooter riders who don’t understand they have have rules and laws to follow as well.
What about UPS, FedEx, and like those large vans block line of sight for cross traffic. Accidents occur while the delivery person hasn’t a clue their vehicle blocked the clear line of sight for those driving through as well as cross traffic.
It’s about time, I live in Boyle Heights near a famous “panaderia”, bakery. Every morning is always an issue to drive through that intersection due to people parking near or even on the corner while getting their bread from the corner bakery. I have seen trucks from the sanitary agency and even police vehicles parked right on the corner and it is very difficult to see the incoming traffic.
They should have parking permits for Los Angeles, because it is an overcrowding of vehicles on the streets double parked and households having too many vehicles taking up space.
I hate California, all they do is look for more ways to take your money away. I will never live there again. The rich keep getting richer, and the poor, poorer.
There are several laws that go unnoticed, and even out of ignorance some adults will insist a person can still park within the limits of this crosswalk, regardless of this article until they start seeing tickets, for example. That is a shame, however, how come they can’t just realize on their own, that trying to park where people are crossing the street at the same time is dangerous. Someone could be backing up, meanwhile run right into someone if they’re not paying close enough attention.The ticket revenue has nothing to do with the fact that some people will not pay attention enough before taking actions, such as backing up right into a crosswalk if they are parked closely, or even in the area if they could. Kids go to school and without even knowing where this is, what comes to mind is their safety.
Ha… I have to slowly and sometimes oddly move a few feet barely missing traffic just to safely cross and turn right on a street in Compton or unincorporated East Rancho Dominguez. All because of a Taco Truck on Rosecrans and other cars or vendors that park ahead of it. Not to mention sometimes a semi truck will park adjacent to the right side where I turn thus making this turn extremely dangerous. I shouldn’t have to add 4-6 minutes to my commute due to the way these people park or have their clientele be. I’ve seen accidents occur at this crossing. Made reports to the parking enforcement since that Taco Truck has set up shop and nothing has ever been done at all.
What about trees that block the view of stop signs? Should they be cut down or trimmed back?
Paint the curbs red !!!!! Instead of surprising people with tickets !!!!!!
This is further proof your government in Sacramento hates your guts.
In Huntington Park and Long Beach on street sweeping days when you’re not allowed to park on a certain side of the street between certain hours, I routinely see cars just straight up parked in the middle of the other lane parallel to cars that are parked along the curb which forces cars to have to drive on the wrong side of the road. Why is this allowed and seemingly nothing ever done about it?
Better idea would have been to enforce laws already in place. Can not enter crosswalk when a pedestrian is in it. From corner to corner. Enforce speed laws already in place, the insanity of speeding. People going way above the speed limit at inappropriate times. Conditions are we’re supposed to slow down. Streets & freeway are race tracks. Law enforcement races with everyone no difference.
Please!!! I get home late and have to walk two blocks home. Then have to wake up 5 hours later to try to find a space so the street sweeper can come. Then I go out to find that it didn’t even come. And I cant park in the ally behind my garage anymore or I’ll get towed.
Also they gotta do something about all the cars that don’t have plates up to date because there’s no parking available.