California Walks and CalBike Call on Cities to Implement Daylighting to Save Lives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Published simultaneously with California Walks.
Contact:
Kendra Ramsey, CalBike, 707-469-3387, kendra@calbike.org
Kevin Shin, California Walks, 562-248-6371, kevin@calwalks.org
In 2023, AB 413, Assemblymember Alex Lee’s Daylighting to Save Lives Bill, passed in Sacramento, making California the 43rd state to prohibit parking approaching intersections to increase visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists. CalBike and California Walks sponsored this critical safety measure, and we are calling on all municipalities to enforce it.
The law included a one-year grace period during which cities could issue warnings but not tickets to cars parked in the daylighting zone of 20 feet on the approach to a crosswalk. On January 1, 2025, cities could begin issuing tickets. Yet, few California communities have stepped up to enforce daylighting, and some of our largest cities are lagging in their implementation.
“Intersections are some of the most fatal parts of our roads where cars, bikes, and pedestrians cross paths,” Assemblymember Lee said. “Roughly a quarter of all traffic fatalities occur around intersections. By improving visibility, daylighting is a simple solution that’s been proven to save lives. Daylighting will help prevent roadway deaths, and we need cities statewide to fully embrace this safety measure. It’s critical that we catch up with the rest of the country and commit to solutions like daylighting to make our streets safer for everyone.”
Every year, around 4,000 people are killed on California roads, and many more are injured. Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable, and intersections are one of the most dangerous spots on the road. Older adults, who are more likely to die even in a low-speed collision, make up a disproportionate number of these fatalities. Children are also among the most vulnerable pedestrians, and the trend of taller front hoods on cars, trucks, and SUVs means that drivers of these vehicles need extra distance to see kids.
The improved sightlines provided by daylighting intersections allow time for drivers to see someone crossing the road on foot or by bike, slow down, and come to a stop to yield the right of way. Yet, we are hearing excuses and obfuscations from cities to water down or simply not enforce this law. In San Francisco, the SFMTA is painting 10-foot red zones instead of 20-foot red zones on some streets. The law allows cities to set shorter daylighting zones if they pass a local ordinance including justification for the difference, which San Francisco has not done. Other cities have refused to ticket drivers because there is no local ordinance prohibiting parking next to intersections, even though state law supersedes local regulations and the daylighting law is enforceable throughout California.
California communities would do better to follow the example of cities like Cupertino, CA, which has taken many of the appropriate steps to prepare its intersections for daylighting. Of course, other cities across the country, including Hoboken, NJ, have achieved zero traffic fatalities, mainly through the daylighting of intersections.
CalBike and California Walks urge municipal leaders and public works departments to:
- Educate parking enforcement officers and empower them to write citations for parking within daylighting zones. No signage or curb paint is required to take this step.
- Educate residents about the need to leave sightlines clear near crosswalks as an act of community care.
- Install signage and red curb paint marking the 20-foot no-parking space wherever feasible.
- Harden daylighting zones as much as possible by adding bike parking corrals, bike or scooter share docks, benches, planters boxes, bioswales, or other community amenities.
- Use planned road maintenance projects as opportunities to demarcate and harden daylighting zones.
The 20-foot space required by state law (15 feet for intersections with curb extensions) is the equivalent of just a single parking space. We believe one parking space is worth the life of someone’s child or grandparent. Giving up this small amount of parking is something we can all do to benefit our communities and our neighbors.
Daylighting is an essential tool in reducing the growing toll of traffic violence on California streets. We urge our civic leaders to fully adopt this simple yet effective safety measure.
