South San Francisco, CA August 24, 2015
Would this work in your neighborhood?
Photo; LMU
City officials exclaim South San Francisco does not experience parking problems, or the ones that do exist in specific areas, are similar to other Cities. However, residents continue to complain about residential parking problems through out the City and not just in our downtown or higher density neighborhoods. A Sterling Terrace neighbor shared this incident on our facebook page which generated another lengthy conversation about lack of parking and the City’s seemly indifference to the problems this causes among neighbors.
Because this lack of parking is an on-going problem that will continue as we see more development in our City, we are sharing the full conversation for the benefit of all our neighbors. Robert Frost may have coined the adage ‘Good fences make for good neighbors’ there is something to today’s version in relationship with parking concerns. And because we see more and more traffic on our roadways and the ultimate goal is to encourage mass transportation and decrease car ownership, new ‘transit high density’ construction is limiting parking spots. South City resident Wendy expresses what we’ve all seen, more housing units will bring more cars which will impact existing neighborhoods – and neighbors.
“The monstrosity that is going up in Sunshine Gardens is a prime example of the lack of consideration being given to existing residents. 30+ condos, and 4 single family houses, and the Planning Commission only allotted 1.5 parking spaces for each unit because they are assuming that the buyers of these unit will be using public transit. So when these unit are sold, and then rented out to multiple tenants with 3-4 cars each the existing residents will lose their parking… when this was brought up at the Planning meeting the residents were told… So what??? It is public parking, and NOT guaranteed….”
The Original Post
Growing pains as our #SSF City continues to see higher rents bringing more people – and cars- in a household. We cannot afford to lose our #SSF pride, our small town feeling & our neighborly respect as Chris shares his experience.
“Last night I had to park in front of a neighbor’s house because the space was taken in front of ours by somebody else. As I was on my phone in the car, the neighbors came home and spit all over my window because of where I parked. It was almost a very bad situation as I confronted them.
I’ve watched the neighborhood grow over these 28 years, and it’s becoming more difficult to park. Can we all understand that this is everybody’s situation and not spit on, deface, or argue with our neighbors about parking? The streets are public, they aren’t your private parking places. Don’t be a disgusting human being.”
Neighbor Comments
Jenny Wow, that’s ridiculous. What is wrong with people?
Jim I won’t cry if the spitting neighbors get priced out of the neighborhood.
Kayla (sister speaking) This issue has been an ongoing one for a long time. We understand its public parking and we can’t tell people to not park in front of our house but this just took the situation completely over the top. This completely angers me and I’m disgusted.
Meg Are you serious!! How disgusting …. Our small knit good neighborhood sounds like it’s going to shits!
Kayla It’s true Meg. We all used to know each other back in the day remember that? Now it’s like strangers who don’t want to know you
Margaretta true, we can’t tell people not to park in front of our house, but it’s not right when they leave their car/truck there for like 5 days. of course they have to move their vehicles for street cleaning,
Cynthia true! That happens a lot on my street! There are people that have at least 4 cars and they are all parked all day long on the street.
Kayla It’s frustrating but one of those things you just have to go “aw man not again” and deal with. We understand people don’t want to park a block or two away because neither do we! But at least don’t be rude about it and just be completely inhumane. Just sad how some people treat each other
Lynn Where I live we park our cars in front of our house. We have three cars, one in the driveway, two on the street. When we park on the street, we leave room so another car can park in front of our house.
Kayla we all make sure we park in the street when we come home (2 in the street 2 in the driveway) but we all work and come home sometimes later than usual so people park in front of our house before we have the chance to get home, to leave room in front of their own house. And like when my brother parked in front of someone else’s house because our house was taken, he was spit on. We have a system but we don’t always come home directly after work is my point. And its not so much as the parking issue as the disgusting inhumane neighbor spitting on the car issue. Hopefully you’re not accusing me of thinking we own the spot in front of my house and coming at me in that way because it isn’t an issue with public street parking. its about the disgusting human beings who act the way the do about situations they are unhappy about. People have to understand they need to treat others with respect if they expect to be respected. spitting on my brothers car isn’t the way to gain any respect.
Denni That’s sad your neighbor did that – parking is hard and there are often junker trucks loaded with trash parked in front of our house – but these are our neighbors – have respect.
Ace Same issue I have on magnolia. Trucks filled with cardboard. I had to park my nice collector car up the block last night because there were so many cars parked. Didn’t even recognize them either and I know all my neighbors
Rebecca When I lived there in Westbough it was a wonderful place to live, now it’s not sad how time changes everything
Melanie My mom lives by Westborough and the parking is HORRIBLE! Too many households have too many cars
Ryan I am very sorry to hear about your experience of having your vehicle spit on by an ill mannered person who doesn’t respect our fine city or their fellow residents. This person clearly doesn’t understand the very simple concept of “PUBLIC STREET” which means you don’t own any of the spots in front of your house or not. Thank you for keeping your composure and not making it into a brawl which might have happened in other cities in the Bay Area.
Dino Shows some serious restraint not beating their ass for that.. Kudos.. lol
Charles same here on Maple ave i seen someone park on maple and he lives one block away on olive what can we do. josie
Melanie I used to live on Maple, all the Grand Ave employees parked there unsure emoticon
Sal I’m on aspen I see people with multiple cars over here this one old man has 2 trucks and leaves them all week until street cleaning .and a few others leave their cars for a few days live in the alley. It sucks because I own 2 cars 1 for me and 1 for my wife it’s getting to the point I can’t find parking ever. It’s gotten really bad the past 2 years . I feel you’re pain.
Kayla my grandmother lives on maple and when we visit her we have to park around the corner because people from the apartment building down the block use her block for parking
Johnnye Same on San Felipe these 2 families both own already 6 cars each, my friend Sandra parked her nice corvette in front of their house and they put crushed up bread all over her car!!!! Wtf is wrong with people
Jim Is parking bad enough that we need to think about those neighborhood parking stickers? That would probably get rid of the extra cars that come from in-law units because I think every street address only gets 2-3 stickers.
Viviana Great idea.
Manuel Good idea!
I will go for that.
Sally Great Idea!!!!! but then again the city just keeps on building more an more homes/condos, etc. I say 2 parking permits per address.
Vanessa I live in an in law unit. I’m currently trying to move, but it was all I could afford. My landlords rent out 2 rooms as well, and I don’t know if the tenants who rent rooms have cars. But regardless, I’d be pretty disappointed if I had to go park very far bc I wasn’t able to get a sticker. With the cost of living, in law units are very helpful. Think about those who are struggling and benefit from in law units.
Vanessa Yeah, it may not help the parking problem. But rent isn’t decreasing anywhere, so what about that problem? See where I’m coming from? frown emoticon
Ace You’re probably the type of dude who puts the crushed up bread on cars cuz you couldn’t park in front of your house. Sad. What about us in studios and in laws? Also, I’m handicapped and proudly walk a block to my door when parking is full. What’s your excuse for wanting parking permits for PUBLIC spaces?
Ace It’s PUBLIC parking. You want to park in designated spaces? Move to an apartment with assigned spots or Get a garage or car port. If you can’t then move.
Jim Ace, the way it works is that you get a sticker that allows you to park in the neighborhood. People without the sticker can only park for two hours within certain hours. So, no, there are no reserved spots and parking is still “public.”
Jim to Vanessa, I understand your point. It’s hard to get along these days. But, in all honesty, the extra cars that come with in-law housing are a BIG part of the parking problem in SSF.
Ace Ima leave it alone
Ixchel I had a male who saw me get in my car and start it up and literally just parked his car HALFWAY blocking my driveway. And all he did was look at me with his ghetto car. Not even driving between his car and another didn’t phase him either. Tell me why all of a sudden the neighbors/neighborhood are becoming more classless and disgusting? And rude to top it all. Honestly, what happened lol.
Vanessa I understand your reason to be upset. But I wouldn’t judge the car. Some of us can’t afford newer cars. People imply that ghetto cars are old, beaten up, not looking their best. But if it’s all they can afford, then at least they got one. As for their behavior, totally with you. But I think the fact that they have a “ghetto” car doesn’t help your case and shouldn’t be spoken on.
Ace What’s a “ghetto” car look like?
Ixchel I get what you mean and I am not bashing on older beat up cars or anything. It really looked like something from a garbage area though. Just how he came off was very rude and it just didn’t help what he was driving. I don’t even think he lived on my street so he just looked like a no good teen or so. This is all based off my assumption though by what he has and was in. And what he did as well just didn’t help his cause. Again, I apologize if it seemed that I was bashing old or beat up cars.
Tracy Gardiner has the same problem. Neighbors across the street have 9 cars. They don’t park in their garage or driveway. It’s getting ridiculous, especially when it’s street sweeping days. These cars only move once a week as well. I think we do need parking stickers.
Also, good job not beating their ass… Cause I would have made them eat pavement.
David So City is LOADED with scum bags. Getting MUCH worse! Time to bail out of ghetto SSF.
Jim Instead of bailing, let’s fight the scum bags!
David It’s like fighting ants. Way too many to deal with. They’re multiplying.
Lucinda over where my friend Christina lives there is a person who throws eggs on people’s cars.
Vanessa Wtf! That’s disgusting. Karma will get them
Lucinda she has this video taped too. This person does it at night..
Vanessa Wow! I’m Speechless
Sharon We have the same problem. It’s too the point where people are putting out cones to save their spot.
Carol Grand Ave., with all the apartments, is extremely difficult to get a parking space. I live near the Senior Center and Roger Williams school. Street sweeping days are a nightmare.
Martin That’s despicable. I’d call the cops on them. They could have been braver if u weren’t around and damaged your car.
Melanie I’ve had to have a few cars ticketed because they parked (poorly) in front of my house for days and days, but I’ve never experienced that level of disrespect!
Barbara I left SSF for just those reasons, disrespectful neighbors. It’s great up here in Sacramento BUT DON’T MOVE UP HERE.
Sal I live by olive and it’s gotten bad . Worst part is people that rent in laws owning multiple cars and don’t even drive them. And leaving them for long periods of time. I hate to put it out there because I hate the idea of a sticker on my bumper but they might have to start doing permit parking.
Hikey I am a south city resident for the last 18yrs. I’ve seen my neighborhood filled with cars parked on there lawn sometimes parked on the street overnight. I will be for it if south city start using those monthly stickers that San Francisco has.
Davida You want to have to pay to park in front of your house? We don’t need the government to fix this…just get the word out to be courteous.
Everything South City Our neighbors who live in the downtown parking district do have to pay for monthly parking permits. Our neighbors near BART have had free permits to help keep commuter cars out of the area.
Michael I would call the police and let them explain to your ignorant neighbor that no one owns the street. Start a paper trail.
Chris Thanks for sharing this and for the support. The husband was apologetic but the wife yelled at me for cussing him out. Go figure. I made them wash my window though. And worse is they came home at the same time, parked the van in the driveway, and parked the car around the corner…today at 2pm the van is still there so they could have parked across their own driveway. Our cops have better things to deal with in this town nowadays. Hopefully we can figure this out and still keep our sense of community.
Dave: Good thing my son knows how you should act towards neighbors. Don’t disrespect your neighbors. South City has changed a lot since I moved in. It is getting crowded, busy and not as friendly as the past. People just don’t care anymore. Do unto others and love thy neighbor used to be normal but we can’t reference the Bible or God so I guess it’s okay to be rude, crude and inconsiderate. Can’t we all get along? Just sayin’
Vanessa Same problem on my end. People don’t know how to park to allow the proper amount of cars to park along a sidewalk. On Palm Ave, 3 cars can easily fit between a driveway and corner of a sidewalk, but people park like jackasses and bc of that, only 2 cars can be parked there. To top it off, the BMW didn’t move for days. Almost called to get it ticketed bc it was so frustrating! I know no one has to adhere to other people’s problems, but my man having nerve damage in his legs definitely sucks when he has to park blocks away bc someone either doesn’t know how to park or just isn’t considerate. Just saying. I don’t know how to fix this problem so I think we all just need to get over it. Not worth the stress frown emoticon
Phil. on our court we had a house sold the previous owner was foreclosed on, a person bought it and basically converted it into an apartment building renting out 3 bedrooms and building a in law in the garage and renting that out as well. so it’s 4 units with virtually no garage parking. Our city knows about this and says they can do NOTHING? 4 units with a possibility of 2 adults per unit = 8 cars, they have 5 at the moment but what if everyone in our neighborhood did this? Our city must do something because this could get bad.
Vanessa I totally get your point, but the other issue here is rent. Prices aren’t decreasing and people need to live here for their own reasons. Renting a room or in-law unit is very beneficial for people who are struggling. If it isn’t one problem, it’s another unfortunately.
Lynn to Phil call the building department or Fire Department and tell them there is an illegal unit. Trust me the they can do something about it. It happened to someone I know. A friend of mine landlord had an illegal unit in the garage, was reported, they came out and told the landlord it had to come down or face up to $1000 penalty a day. Building Departure told the landlord the garage is a garage. It cannot be turned into a unit.
Phil They have been out because another neighbor called they made them take out an illegal kitchen downstairs but that was it. I called and asked about having multiple units and they said that would be hard to prove. ?? I don’t get it
David I feel your pain Phil.
Patty This has also happened on our block. From one day to another we saw unfamiliar people and cars on our block. We use to know all our neighbors but not anymore.
Phil. Yeah and my thought is this could happen to every house eventually if the city is going to allow it.
Anita Get cameras! Costco have wireless with night vision. SSF PD said they are good and clearly caught a neighbor vandalizing someone’s car
Jose This car has been parked in front of my house since last Sunday, 8/16. I called the recording on Thursday, 8/20. Today is Tuesday, 8/25, no green sticker yet. If you pass by on Arlington and happen to piss on, key, or slash the tires of this black Honda Prelude, I won’t mind. Have a nice day everyone.
Martin I think the city should put up two hour parking on this streets it would be more revenue for the city besides and the bad thing this Mexican or my I say Latin they own about three or more cars
Christina Someone eggs cars that park in front of my apartment building!
Maria Understand the whole parking situation. We make use of our front drive way. It’s only a 2 spot however we can fit 3 cars if we park a certain way. We live on Grand Ave and parking is horrid. Even if I see a spot on the street I will not take it because I know our neighbors need to park there also.
Dave problem on Linden Ave is people will park on your bumpers and leave you trapped so you can’t move. People will also park in front of fire hydrants & in the red zones near Armor *& Linden. police wont do anything about this
Courtney That’s ridiculous. No one owns the street but you should also be courteous and not park a million cars on a street where few people have driveways.
Ann I am very sorry you had to experience this. I live near downtown and have the same issue with parking. About 3 years ago a new neighbor kept parking in front of my house, while her driveway was empty. We asked nicely many times for her not to park there as we had nowhere else to park. One night she came out of her house and started threatening my 18 year old daughter with slashing her tires because the street is public and she could park anywhere she wanted. My daughter freaked out, I called the police, it turned into a not nice situation. Two days later my car tire was slashed. We have not spoken since. Very sad as I get along with every single one of my other neighbors. I have lived here for over 15 years, and grew up in SSF
Wayne How rude. We all need to learn that we live in a very small community and need to be considerate of one another. Those with more cars than they have room for should at last not block the walkway from a house. There are people with mobility issues that need that access. With a little common sense and respect for our fellow beings, we can make it work.
Evelyn I agree. There isn’t common courtesy for one another anymore. It’s truly very sad. I had to park in front of my friend’s neighbor’s house and the homeowner came out to tell me to move my car because it’s his daughter’s spot. I wasn’t even going to park there all day. And that happened in 2001. BTW I’ve lived in SSF for 27years
Lynda I have a parking issue in my neighborhood as well (thankfully no spitting. . . Yet). What happened to common courtesy? There seems to be a weird entitlement by some people regarding parking. If you can, leave the space in front of someone’s house for them. If no other choice, then park in a free space and people need to respect that. Spitting on your neighbors car is absolutely disgusting. I’m sorry this happened Chris!! Your parents knows my recent parking woes friend parked in front of my house for 48 hours and police were called and put a 72 hour “courtesy” sticker on it-I guess it’s also ok to lie to the police now too!
Frances Here in Daly City the parking has gotten to epic proportions and households have gotten more cars because kids have to be home instead of out in the economy. We just took out our garden to make an extra parking space. No water, extra spot.
Muriel Its that way all over .
Davida Common Courtesy goes both ways – I make sure that no one who visits me takes up my neighbors parking. I also go out of my way to check with my neighbors and ask if I can park in front of their house (via text) if they are not home yet – ensuring I move before they come home.
Tips for being a courteous neighbor when parking is tight:
1) Don’t park in front of your neighbors spot unless you have no other choice – and then let them know via text etc. Ask them if its okay to park there for a bit – when are they going to be home etc.
2) If you have guests – identify a place for them to park, near your home that DOESN’T impact the neighborhood. There are side streets etc that can accommodate friends for a short time. Ask them to park around the corner – especially if you live on one the lanes.
3) Allow your neighbors to be human. They forgot something and ran home to grab it and parked briefly in your spot to run in – don’t honk and swear at them. Give them space.
4) Be respectful – the worst thing is when a neighbor throws a party and takes up all the parking – when they know it is tight already. Figure out a solution – or TELL your neighbors “hey I am having a party and there might be an influx of people tomorrow – let me know if they grab your spot and we will figure it out”.
Wendy It’s only going to get worse as they build more housing. The Transit village going in across from BART will have 4 single family houses and 30+ condominiums which have been allocated 1.5 parking spaces each. Yet the Planning commission deems this as acceptable because most of the people who will buy these homes will be commuting via public transportation…. and when it turns out that each unit will have 3+ cars each, the existing home owners will be screwed & the City will claim that they cannot do anything.
Carolyn I’d be happy to just have parking spaces painted since people don’t know how to park on the street i.e. taking up parking to save spots a little courtesy would be great since parking is an issue.
Rose There was a visitor on our block who parked in the middle of 2 spaces, taking one of “ours”. Hello! Can’t you tell it’s for 2 cars? The person wasn’t saving it, just clueless, but after a couple of nights never came back. Really want to paint some brackets on the ground though
Jean What the heck?
Yolanda Well it’s the street it doesn’t belong to anyone…who spits on a neighbors car?!
Laura crazy
Cindy SO SAD THAT PEOPLE CAN BE SO DISGUSTING.
Carol Another reason why we left the bay area
Cheryl SF parking problems coming to our community. Stay tuned.
Robert I was born and raised in south city and I left 24 yrs ago and all I hear about safe is how it’s going down the tubes, is that really true??Please say it’s not as bad as I hear??I loved the park straight across the street..
Justin Streets are public parking, driveways are not. Outside my apt complex some people do park terribly making a 3 car curb into a 2 car curb. That does piss me off. Another time a guy visiting parked behind me on a 2 car curb, halfway blocking a driveway and I had to bump into his car just to leave b/c he was so close.
Bob Had this problem before with the police. Do what I did. When no one is looking that chalk and mark tires and the date on the side of the tire. See how fast it’s moved.
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If you do a simple ‘google search’ of parking problems you will see it is a nation wide issue. However, that does not mean our residents must accept the status quo and not seek other solutions that will resolve the problem and keep good relationships between neighbors.
If you would like to share your concerns with our City Council please CLICK HERE or call 650/829.6601, mailing address is PO 711 SSF 94080