A fresh wave of consternation has swept through San Francisco's RV community as a controversial proposal seeks to outlaw overnight parking on city streets. The move, targeting a fast-growing segment of the homeless population that calls their vehicles home, has sparked an outcry from advocates. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) laid out the groundwork for this change, which would restrict large vehicles—specifically travel trailers and mobile homes—from parking on any city-managed street between midnight and 6 a.m.

The plan, yet to be passed by the SFMTA Board of Directors, has been met with apprehensions that it will disproportionately affect the vulnerable. According to a report by ABC7 News, a significant population of families "in San Francisco living in RVs because of rising rents". Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, was reported to have said, "Kids just started school. They need stability. This is a really cruel way of going about addressing a crisis".

Though SFMTA spokespeople remained tight-lipped, referring queries to the mayor's office, a glimmer of policy insight was provided by Mayor London Breed's spokesperson, Parisa Safarzadeh. "There are currently no changes to our policy, and we are continuing to explore a range of options, while our outreach teams engage and offer shelter on a regular basis to try to help people off of our streets and into the city's system of care", Safarzadeh said, as stated by ABC7 News.

Unfortunately, the city's lone sanctioned 'safe parking' area is at capacity, underscoring a dire shortfall in resources. The serious delays in adding additional sites have left many without an alternative, exemplifying San Francisco's ongoing struggle with homelessness. Homeless advocates, like Friedenbach, believe that opening more safe parking sites would be "much simpler" and preferable to a ban, a sentiment echoed in an interview with ABC7 News.

Meanwhile, resistance gathers momentum with the anticipated SFMTA board meeting this week, during which a rally is planned against the proposal. Lukas Illa, an organizer at the Coalition on Homelessness, called the city’s proposed parking restrictions a "callous plan to tow family homes", denouncing the measure, in words reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.