Eyes on the Street: City Forgets Daylighting When Repainting Curbs

Photo: Eli Gill is seeing white, not red, at 5th and Washington.

Recently, the city had a lot of work to do to repair and in some cases even rebuild storm drains following the heavy storms of January and February. Eagle-eyed Next readers Eli Gill and Bradley Ewing noticed that something was amiss.

In at least two intersections, following the rebuild/repairs when the curbs were repainted the red are, aka the “daylighting zone” was repainted white, signaling to drivers that it is ok to park in areas that are both dangerous and illegal.

Daylighting, which has been required by state law since last year, is a traffic safety traffic that removes parked cars near intersections and crosswalks to improve visibility between drivers and pedestrians. It has been shown to dramatically reduce the number of traffic collisions.

In the picture below, taken by Ewing at 4th and Idaho, even though the curb is white, the driver is still in violation of the law and could theoretically be ticketed. That being said, it is unlikely SMPD would issue such a fine.

Both tipsters have reported this painting mistake to the city and we will update when the curbs are painted red again. If you see any other places where this happened, you can let me know at damien@santamonicanext.org.

About The Author

Damien Newton

Damien is the executive director of the Southern California Streets Initiative which publishes Santa Monica Next, Streetsblog Los Angeles, Streetsblog San Francisco, Streetsblog California and Longbeachize.

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