LovetoTravel83

Parked today around Sutter and Larkin, the metered there said clearly "Free Parking".

rjque

Wow, guess I was wrong about that. I've never personally seen it, though, and have always relied on the process of elimination to determine when I could park.

DBCme

My general rule for street parking: If you see an open spot, be suspicious. If you see open ones next to each other, be verrrry suspicious.

But seriously, read all signs (plural) on a given block relating to parking.

Ancien Maestro

Parking at Fairmont San Francisco was $52 per night.. so instead of taking the vehicle out, this last August when visited, we kept our vehicle parked, and took a tour bus, trolleys.. a lot cheaper than paying again for parking..

cockpitvisit

Is it allowed to park at a broken parking meter in SF? If yes, for how long?

Thanks

Eastbay1K

It is supposed to be for the maximum time that the meter allows. But I don't trust anything about not getting a ticket in SF.

Ancien Maestro

Some cities don't allow parking at a broken meter, but its clearly posted.. See if there are any warning signs if you find a broken meter..

There's also reason why no one is parking at the broken meter if busy..

Eastbay1K

Broken Meters

If a meter is broken you are allowed to park at that meter for the posted time limit.

To report broken meters, call 415.920.4090.

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/pmeter/indxpkmeter.htm

You are welcome. My time is $500/hr. It took a minute to find and a minute for the memo, so you owe me $16.67. I won't even bill you the minimum .1 hour increment.

dhuey

Indeed. Expect the most aggressive parking enforcement you'll ever see in SF. If you experience less than that, be grateful.

But one of many reasons why SF visitors should take cabs, BART and Muni whenever feasible instead of renting a car.

MDtR-Chicago

You actually bill at $500/hr? Are you hiring?

ObParking: If staying overnight in SF on a weekend, I often park near whatever establishment (usually in a less auto-frequented area) I'm visiting then take a cab back to the hotel. The round trip cab fare is cheaper than hotel parking.

biggestbopper

Guess you've never been to Washington D.C. where the City government has decided tourists and suburbanites MUST pay.

IMHO, SF is much more reasonable, parkingwise. Although when I go to SF I often find taking BART the best option. Recently I spent a quarter of an hour trying to figure out if I could park on a certain block South of Market on the Bay, near the old Army Navy YMCA and wasn't certain I gotten it right until morning when I didn't have a ticket.

Palal

Actually, Berkeley where you live is a lot worse. I've heard Berkeley cops call meter maids: "meter nazis".

IMO, outside a few areas in SF where it's impossible to find parking, things are usually not too bad.

General rule:
1. If parked at a meter, check meter hours. Most new meters are either turned off or display "free parking" when outside of working hours. In downtown many meters accept credit cards to pay for parking. If not, there are parking cards. Some meters offer unlimited parking now, provided you pay, but most do not. Check time limits on the front of the meter (opposite side of where you pay) on older meters.

2. Check all the street signs on the block. While you should follow the most restrictive signs, if there are conflicting signs (I haven't seen too many of those) you'll be able to fight off the ticket if ticketed.

3. The signs you should be most aware of:
No parking: bus zone, disabled zone, any red curb, next to a fire hydrant, yellow zone without commercial plates, white zone (stopping for loading/unloading only). SF curbs are generally very well painted and the paint is well kept up.
"X-hour parking Y AM to Z PM". The times are not universal. Theoretically you should be able to start your unlimited parking 1hr59min before the end of the restrictions in a 2 hr zone.
"No Parking A AM/PM to B AM/PM on [day of week], street cleaning".
Just what it says.
"No Parking X PM to Y PM. Tow Away" - commute streets in commute directions -- don't park here then, your car will be towed.

Basically, read the signs. I have not gotten a single parking ticket in SF in all years that I've lived/driven there. It's not that difficult.

minhaoxue

They chalk the tires. Usually the back tire facing he street. When the parking control officer returns to the area two hours later and the car is still there, ticket.

CApreppie

Some municipalities have moved to photographing license plates so you don't know if you've been logged.

Ancien Maestro

Calgary is on this system now.. and has a Park Plus system where you program license plate and pay with cc, a ticketless system, which doesn't automatically give out a receipt, which is a pet peeve if I miss pressing the receipt button..