Pilot program would manage Dolores Street median parking

Transit officials want to clear up confusion surrounding drivers parking next to the median in the middle of the road on Dolores Street.

Officials are proposing to develop a 12-month pilot to clarify on Dolores Street that would limit the areas where median parking can occur, limit the times when drivers can park there and making sure emergency vehicles can access the neighborhood.

SFMTA documents said The City’s transportation allows for median parking only if signage is present. No signs are present on Dolores Street — so median parking is not allowed.

Though median parking is not officially allowed on Dolores Street, transit officials said enforcement has been lax due to the lack of parking enforcement officers and concentrating on other priority areas in The City during the weekends.

Faith-based institutions such as churches and synagogues have traditionally used median parking for its members. Residents in the area have said that they want equal access to the median parking for all users, according to SFMTA documents.

The transit agency formed a committee group called the Guerrero/Dolores Median Parking Policy Advisory
Committee in May last year to come up with solution for the transit agency. The group was unable to make a consensus final recommendation, so it was up to the transit agency’s staff.

Officials will look at the number of incidents of nighttime median parking, elimination of red curb parking areas, elimination of parallel parking on the median and emergency response times in the neighborhood to measure the success of the pilot.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.