Double parking is rampant in San Francisco. It disrupts traffic and creates safety issues. The top five streets for violators are: Mission, Sutter, Howard, Polk and Union Streets.
"It's really the wild west. People just seem to stop their vehicles wherever they want, whenever they want. Sometimes even when they have the possibility of pulling over," said Supervisor Scott Wiener.
Wiener called a hearing Monday to discuss enforcement, which he says is concentrated downtown and not enough in the neighborhoods. Commercial truck drivers already get some exemptions but still make up 62 percent of the violators.
"What's the solution? I'm not sure I have a solution but, they, people have to be tolerant of what we do and know that this is a vital function for the community and for this, all the businesses at large," said commercial truck driver Len Garcia.
The Municipal Transportation Agency is in charge of citations and says 261 parking control officers are working the streets.
"We've issued about 22,000 parking tickets last year. We've issued up to 15,000 so far this year so we are enforcing these rules and it's a matter of using our resources to the best of our ability, to be more efficient," said MTA spokesperson Paul Rose.
The fine for double parking is $110; the maximum allowed by law. Without the threat of an increase, Wiener believes better enforcement is the only way to change the culture of double-parking.
