Eighteen months ago, San Diego began issuing citations after a new state law took effect making it illegal to park within 20 feet of a crosswalk. The law didn’t require painted curbs or signs, but many city curbs began turning red to inform drivers of the change to improve visibility.
Other curbs were not painted, leaving some drivers unknowingly parking illegally.
Since March 2025, the city of San Diego has issued hundreds of citations — and collected tens of thousands of dollars in fines — for vehicles parked along unpainted curbs.
An inewsource analysis of parking ticket data collected by partner outlet Crosstown found that four of San Diego’s 10 most-ticketed “daylighting” intersections — 3100 Polk Ave., 3400 Madison Ave., 2900 Gunn St. and 4000 Kansas St., clustered in North Park and Normal Heights — had unmarked curbs.
The four unmarked spots collectively had 273 citations totaling $31,693 in the last 12 months — something San Diego City Council member Stephen Whitburn, when advised of the issue by inewsource, said shouldn’t be happening.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the so-called “daylighting” bill into law in October 2023, but it wasn’t enforced in San Diego until March 2025 in part so that San Diego had time to mark curbs.
Fines started at $77.50 and increased to $117 in July 2025.
In some cases, parking motorists are ignoring the red curb markings in San Diego. The No.1 spot for citations over the last 12 months — with 122 tickets totaling over $14,000 in fines — was in the 4200 block of Polk Avenue in City Heights — a curb that is clearly marked red now.
San Diego City Council member Sean Elo-Rivera, whose Council District 9 includes the City Heights section of Polk Avenue, had heard complaints from constituents about unpainted red curbs.
“Earlier in the rollout of California’s daylighting law, our office heard concerns from residents on Polk Avenue about a high number of citations, including in areas where curbs had not been painted red,” Elo-Rivera told inewsource in a statement. “Despite the City’s significant budget constraints, our office identified funding from our office budget that could be used to paint red curbs and provide residents with a clearer visual indication of where parking is prohibited.”
That approach hasn’t been replicated everywhere, but city officials are trying to catch up.
One stretch along Madison Avenue has three consecutive blocks that were in the top 10 most-cited areas in the last 12 months. Many of them had what appeared to be recently painted curbs when inewsource visited them but 3400 Madison Ave. was different.
It had curbs that were marked red but only for a fraction of the 20 feet of distance where parking is banned by law, so parking just behind the red paint could still result in a ticket.
inewsource visited the intersection twice, and both times saw cars parked illegally, just behind the insufficient red markings.
Olivia Robinson, who lives along the corner, said, “Nobody abides by the 20 feet.”
She added that the insufficient curb markings are “not 20 feet so people think it’s OK. That’s a problem for sure.”
That curb alone has had 77 tickets in the last 12 months totaling almost $9,000.
Council member Elo-Rivera said that the issue identified by inewsource was similar to the concerns people on Polk Avenue had raised earlier, but that his office hasn’t heard complaints from residents in the other areas.
The curb by the 3100 block of Polk Avenue in North Park — which is in San Diego City Council member Stephen Whitburn’s District 3 — didn’t get painted with the others. It is the second-most ticketed curb for daylighting violations in San Diego.
When inewsource visited the location, it was unpainted and a car was parked there illegally.
Just across the street, in front of the Monroe North Park apartment complex on Illinois Street, which receives few daylighting citations, the curb was marked to be painted red.
City spokesperson Anthony Santracroce said the unpainted curbs along 4000 Kansas St. and 3100 Polk Ave. have been identified for daylighting improvements and that the city continues to evaluate safety requests for red curb markings, including along Madison Avenue. The curb at 4000 Kansas St. was marked for painting when inewsource visited it on Aug. 7.
Close by, at the 2900 Gunn St. intersection, which is also highly ticketed, there were three unmarked curbs.
Whitburn said in a statement that he supports the daylighting law “because it adds visibility and safety at intersections,” but he said, “I don’t think anyone should get a ticket for parking along a curb that hasn’t been painted red yet.”
Whitburn said he supports “painting these curbs as quickly as the budget will allow.”
The law impacted more than 16,000 intersections in San Diego.
Since the law took effect, the overall number of citations has declined in San Diego. Santacroce attributed this to improved public awareness, enforcement and curb painting.
On May 6, San Diego’s volunteer Mobility Board raised concerns in a letter to the City Council and the mayor that the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget didn’t include enough money to fund the daylighting program.
It asked the council for a status report and assurances about adequate staffing and funding.
Santacroce said that the city continues to implement the daylighting program through parking meter revenue and funds for street striping and transportation maintenance even though there is no specific line item for the program in the city’s current budget.
