The City of San Francisco Provides “Parking For God”



San Francisco is notorious for having some of the worst traffic in the country, and there’s no such thing as easy parking. For those who attend church services on Sunday, parking can be a nightmare. That’s why the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has made accommodation for Sunday worshipers on city streets by allowing widespread illegal parking. Dolores Street is one of many city thoroughfares where religious favor collides with parking regulations every weekend. For decades, churchgoers have clogged Dolores Street by parking along its median on a 4-block stretch between 14th and 18th Streets. Because the city didn’t have enforcement officers on duty on the weekends, they only issued tickets if they received complaints. Now the “Parking for God” program allows drivers to park along the median Friday through Sunday, with specific parking hours varying by day. The decision was made after neighbors complained about the ongoing median parking occurring in the area due to churchgoers. Church officials said many churchgoers were pushed out of the city due to rising rents and needed a place to park in order to attend church services. Now that the program is in place, complaints have disappeared.