San Francisco Parking Officials Turn Blind Eye To Double-Parking Churchgoers, Dolores Park Visitors
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco parking officials are turning a blind eye to worshipers and Dolores Park visitors double-parking at medians on several streets on Sundays.
The Mission District area near Dolores Park is thick with houses of worship, with thousands of people showing up throughout Sunday to attend services.
Parking would be at a premium if the city wasn't looking the other way, letting worshipers double-park at the medians on several streets, turning two lane streets into one lane streets. The double parking makes it more difficult for bicyclists to navigate the neighborhood also.
"That's something that's happened for generations in San Francisco," SFMTA Spokesman Paul Rose said.
It's been an ongoing argument with some who think it violates church and state separation, turning a blind eye to hundreds of $110 violations each week in deference to the religious community.
And, it gets more complicated with some churchgoers saying they can't find a place to park along those medians because of all the sunbathers at Dolores Park who have realized they can get away with double parking too.
"On Sundays we only have so many resources. We have only so many parking control officers to respond, and when they do respond it's only about a complaint," Rose said.
