Curb Management Strategies
- Designate spaces for short-term parking and pickup in the closest, most convenient on-street spaces, especially near restaurants.
- Reduce physical contact with meters/equipment by temporarily suspending payment/time-limits or switch payment exclusively to mobile payment.
- Implement a “parking ambassador” model of enforcement where officers use signage instead of direct contact to educate and guide people to properly use short-term spaces and loading zones and relax or eliminate citations.
- Temporarily cease citations of on-street residential parking restrictions to make it easier for residents to stay home and relaxing enforcement near pharmacies and grocery stores.
- Close parking lots at parks and beaches to limit crowds.
- Adequately clean dockless and docked bike and scooter share equipment and instruct riders to use gloves.
- Integrate curbside pickup locations on city websites and mobile parking apps.
How are Cities Responding?
San Francisco Bay Area – Multiple cities (Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco) have temporarily suspended parking enforcement including metered and time-restricted parking. Tickets will still be issued for any parking violations that may impact safety: parking in red zones, in front of fire hydrants, etc. Some Bay Area communities are also considering forgoing street sweeping parking violations.“SFMTA has made a number of changes related to parking enforcement to aid our residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes temporarily suspending enforcement of some regulations, such as 72-hour parking limits, other time limit parking and peak-hour towaway zones. These actions will make it easier for San Francisco residents to shelter in place and maintain social distancing.” – Ted Graff, Director of Parking, San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency
Rockville, Maryland – Temporarily designated 40 on-street spaces in their Town Square district as 15-minute curbside pickup spots. Seattle, Washington – Converted spaces in front of restaurants into temporary three-minute loading zones to allow people to quickly pull in and out for curbside food pickup. Tempe, Arizona – Offering 30 minutes of free parking at 600 metered spaces. Lexington, Kentucky – Converted several paid parking spaces into “curbside pickup only,” offering two hours of free parking at meters, and switched enforcement to time limits instead of payment. Pasadena, California – Suspended enforcement of overnight parking bans and time limits in residential neighborhoods, as well as enforcement of street sweeping restrictions. Offering free curbside pickup parking and 20-minute free parking at metered spaces.“The change in converting metered spaces to 20-minute spaces was made with the goal of maintaining on-street access to restaurants for meal pick-up by patrons and delivery services. Our enforcement changes were made to help our residents with the economic impacts of the pandemic.” — Jon Hamblen, Parking Manager, City of Pasadena
The State of California – Closed parking lots at many state parks and beaches to limit crowds. California encouraged people to walk, run, hike, and bike in their local neighborhoods and to maintain a safe distance from each other.
