The Fairfield Police Department has announced that starting July 5, it will enforce the updated California Vehicle Code (CVC) section focused on increasing pedestrian safety. The California Daylighting Bill, or AB 413, introduced subdivision CVC 22500(n), laying out new parking restrictions near crosswalks. Drivers will now need to keep an eye out for this change, or they'll risk a fine, as per the Fairfield Police Department.
Specifically, the updated code prohibits vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk's approach side. Furthermore, vehicles cannot park within 15 feet of the crosswalk if a curb extension is present. Interestingly, before taking effect on January 1, the Fairfield Police Department gave drivers a grace period to adapt to this new regulation without worrying about receiving a fine.
An unmarked crosswalk, which often languishes invisible to the driver not attuned to the subtleties of urban design, is defined as any path between street corners or between a street corner and a sidewalk, given that curb ramps exist on both sides. The 20-foot distance where vehicles are forbidden to park will be measured from the curb return, where the curved curb begins to straighten out, demanding a sharper eye from the curb-straddling driver. Their patience might be slim on that day of enforcement, having been burdened by the novelty of such a rule since its inception.
