Los Angeles drivers who park too close to a crosswalk could soon face a $63 fine, but city officials say they want the public better informed before penalties roll out widely. The Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee voted unanimously this week to approve a draft ordinance that would set those fines, while also pushing for a bigger education push around the state's so-called daylighting law.
Committee Approves Draft Ordinance, Calls for Outreach
The committee's vote, reported by MyNewsLA.com, approved a draft ordinance establishing fines for drivers who park within 20 feet of marked or unmarked crosswalks. Under the proposal, a first violation would carry a base fine of $63, with a late fee of $126 and a second penalty of $151 for repeat issues, according to the outlet's report. The measure now heads to the full Los Angeles City Council for consideration.
Alongside approving the ordinance, committee members also requested that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation build out an educational campaign about the law, known as AB 413, aimed at raising awareness among residents and drivers about the new regulation, the report states. Committee members reportedly raised concerns about enforcement and how it would affect residents in areas where curbs have not yet been painted red, and LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo was reported to have said the agency can pursue a larger engagement and community awareness campaign once the ordinance is modified and approved.
What the State Law Actually Requires
AB 413, also called the Daylighting to Save Lives Bill, took effect statewide on January 1, 2025. The law prohibits stopping, standing or parking within 20 feet of the approach side of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, or within 15 feet where a curb extension is present, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Crucially, the violation applies even when there is no posted sign or painted red curb marking the zone, the department notes.
The Sheriff's Department lists the parking citation violation code as California Vehicle Code 22500(n)(1)(A), carrying a $63 fine, and said its Parking Enforcement Detail was scheduled to begin enforcing the law on November 1, 2025. The department also frames the rule in safety terms, saying daylighting enhances visibility for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists — a rationale echoed in the bill text filed with California Legislative Information, which spells out the same 20-foot and 15-foot distance requirements for crosswalks statewide.
A Statewide Patchwork of Enforcement
How cities are rolling out daylighting has varied. Nearly 36% of pedestrian traffic fatalities in unincorporated Los Angeles County occur at intersections, per the Sheriff's Department's own figures — a statistic officials have cited as the underlying reason for the law. Elsewhere in the state, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency says it began citywide daylighting efforts in 2025 focused on high-priority locations, and as of May 2026 had completed daylighting at 65% of the city's intersections.
The City of Santa Rosa has taken a more gradual approach, saying enforcement there would initially emphasize warnings before moving to parking citations and fines, and that federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding would help pay for red curb installations along the city's High Injury Network. Santa Rosa describes the rule as designed to improve visibility for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians and reduce collisions.
Accounts of enforcement timing elsewhere have not always lined up. A CBS 8 report dated June 14, 2025, stated that while AB 413 took effect statewide on January 1, local enforcement in San Diego did not begin until March 1 of that year — a detail that sits alongside Santa Rosa's own notice citing the same January 1, 2025 statewide effective date, without resolving how the two timelines relate.
No Red Curb Required
For Los Angeles drivers, one point of confusion the committee flagged is whether a curb needs to be painted red before a citation can be issued. It does not. The City of Santa Rosa has said curbs do not need to be painted red for the parking prohibition to be enforceable, a position that matches the Sheriff's Department's guidance that the violation applies even without posted signage or a painted curb. That distinction is part of why committee members pushed for broader public education before the ordinance moves forward in Los Angeles.
