The City of West Hollywood is informing community members about a California State Law, Assembly Bill 413 (AB 413), to prohibit parking a vehicle within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk or within 15 feet of bulb-out curb-crossings. Citation enforcement is mandated to begin on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
AB 413, also known as the Daylighting to Save Lives Bill or “Daylighting Law,” was signed into state law in October 2023 and went into effect on January 1, 2024 with a one-year grace period. The law aims to increase visibility for both pedestrians and oncoming vehicular traffic, with the goal of reducing pedestrian injuries and deaths by adding more time for drivers and people walking to see one another better. Due to their height, children are particularly vulnerable because they are more likely to be invisible behind a parked car. The term “daylighting” refers to the practice of keeping a clear zone of a specified distance on the vehicle approach side of a crosswalk. Daylighting is considered a best practice and is a frequently used tool in cities across the nation. The full text of Assembly Bill 413 can be found on the California Legislature’s website.
Beginning on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, drivers in communities across the State of California, including the City of West Hollywood, will be subject to citations for stopping, standing, or parking within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk or 15 feet of any crosswalk with a curb extension (commonly referred to as a bulb-out), including T-intersections. All intersections on all approaches in the State of California are considered to have a legal unmarked or marked crosswalk, unless marked with signage for no pedestrian crossings.
The City of West Hollywood’s Department of Public Works is working to get the word out about AB 413 to residents, businesses, and community members with City information. The City’s Engineering division is in the process of evaluating intersections throughout West Hollywood to identify locations that warrant modifications to be consistent with the new law and some curbs will be painted red to provide clear indication for no parking zones. Still, drivers are advised that parking in a “daylighted” curb area in close proximity to a crosswalk or curb-crossings, whether painted red or not, is a violation subject to citation.
According to the Federal Highway Administration of the US Department of Transportation, approximately half of all traffic-related injuries occur near intersections. California’s pedestrian fatality rate is nearly 25% above the national average.
The City of West Hollywood has a continuous commitment to explore and implement a mix of measures to address safety as part of comprehensive plan with three unique areas to improve pedestrian safety: Engineering, Enforcement, and Education. The constant movement of dense traffic and pedestrians in close proximity is a challenge not only in West Hollywood but in cities across the nation.
During the past few years, the City of West Hollywood has implemented a variety of improvements including signalized pedestrian crosswalks on Santa Monica Boulevard and Fountain Avenue; and, most recently, pedestrian safety crosswalk improvements on N. San Vicente Boulevard and Rosewood Avenue.
For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s engineering efforts to improve pedestrian safety, including AB 413, please call John Gilmour, City of West Hollywood City Engineer, at (323) 848-6383 or at [email protected].
I applaud this step for enhancing the safety. I would go a step further and remove the tall vegetation planted at the medians to improve the sightline for vehicular traffic to see pedestrians crossing.
I do wish that crosswalks would flash red rather than yellow when they are activated. Yellow only means caution rather than stop.
The best way to educate the public is to paint red on all curbs that meet the definition of this new law.What is 20 feet? It can be hard to visualize 20 feet at a glance if you are driving looking for a spot to park. It would be better to paint red the curbs that are near crosswalks so that the driver knows not to park there.Drivers know it is the law not to park in front of a fire hydrant,but it is best to paint that curb red the required length so that drivers will not have to… Read more »
Look both ways before you cross. Problem solved.
More California Democrat Dogooder Meddling. Ffs, how about you enforce existing laws instead of writing up more dross legislation that jwill inevitably just bleed taxpayers even further. Empower LEOs to stop drivers behaving unlawfully even if they’re minorities or illegals – go after the real problem drivers who hit and run, or injure/maim without insurance
So the city had one whole year to paint curbs red around crosswalks but are just now evaluating the situation??? Also, if this applies to marked and unmarked crosswalks, how are we to determine where unmarked crosswalks are???
I believe the California definition of an unmarked crosswalk is the portion of a street that is in between sidewalks at any intersection – if true, that is a lot of unmarked crosswalks that currently permit parking within 20 feet of them. Some blocks could be rendered completely illegal to park on.
It doesn’t appear to include side streets which may be within 20 feet, because that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but we shall see.
It does say, “in certain places and under certain conditions.”
Otherwise, a very smart thing to do when trying to save pedestrians from vehicular accidents/deaths.