An SFist tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent us this photo of an Oakland police officer parking in a disabled parking space in Temescal on Monday while sipping some brew inside a nearby Peet's Coffee. And, yes, police will tell you that in emergency situations, cops will park anywhere. But does a double macchiato constitute a real emergency? No. No, it does not. more ›

The front page of the New York Times website right now is a story about San Francisco's new demand-based, variably priced parking system, which they claim is already making parking spots easier to find! What say you, dearest readers? Has this really already had the impact the Times is telling everyone it has? more ›

It's been about nine months since the SFMTA rolled out the high-tech SFPark program, which means it is time again to check in on the deluge of data from those fancy meters. When we last looked at the demand-adjusted rates back in July, the prices weren't too crazy, depending on the neighborhood. Fast forward a couple months, however, and the data-hungry meters continue to widen the gap between the highest and lowest prices — sometimes varying by a couple bucks per hour in the space of a block or two. more ›

Mothers in San Francisco have been lobbying for months to get parking permits for their nannies, thus allowing their frazzled and exhausted hired help to park closer to the homes they work in without fear of parking tickets. While the nanny parking program looks to be moving forward with some stipulations, the Examiner has the shocking revelation today that gossipy moms in the members-only Golden Gate Mothers Group have been secretly discussing workarounds for obtaining residential parking permits for their non-resident nannies. more ›

City Assessor and Mayoral Candidate Phil Ting wasn't too keen on MTA's plan to increase the number of parking tickets they hand out this year. So he did what every reasonable person who wants to see some change in the city government would do - he launched an online petition on his site ResetSanFrancisco.org for people who agree with him that "more parking tickets are one of the worst ways to close the budget gap". Not exactly a transit-first policy from a guy hoping to get a nicer desk in City Hall. more ›

This should go over swimmingly with some San Franciscans. Looking to fill Muni's $21 million budget shortfall, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials plan on ticketing divers more in 2011. Yes, in lieu of raising fares (at least for now), "[t]he agency plans to redeploy parking control officers to better capture meter revenue and issue citations." more ›

Late last night, somebody decided to park their cheap import right by the escalators in the empty Virgin Megastore on Market Street. So far, both the SFAppeal and the Weekly have been unable to get any information out of the SFPD, but if we had to guess: It looks like someone got a little saucy at a holiday party last night and drove the wrong way up Fourth Street only to panic at that mess of an intersection. Those Old Navy mannequins can be distracting when you're nogged out of your mind. more ›

A public service announcement from the Examiner: an MTA program to encourage carpooling and hopefully ease holiday congestion begins tomorrow and runs until December 26th at eight different city garages. The program offers one hour of free parking to vehicles with three occupants, or two free hours to those with four or more, and is good from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (except at Civic Center, which is weekends-only). Check the list of garages on the MTA site here and please warn us before you start unloading your minivan full of hellions, OK? [Examiner] more ›

Today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency rolled out new parking meters, high-tech ones that will replace old meters with new "coin and card" ones in Hayes Valley. more ›

Brought to you by James Corrigan. Gnash your teeth, and enjoy.
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In an effort to generate anywhere from $2 to $3 million a year, Mayor Gavin Newsom says he's warming up to the idea of citywide Sunday meters. Right now only waterfront and Embarcadero meters operate on Sundays. more ›

In addition to an eternity burning in the lower circles of hell, handicap placard and parking space abusers will now face larger fines in San Francisco. Yesterday, the SFMTA approved fine increases for on everything "from blocking a blue zone to displaying an invalid placard." And we're sure we have more than one guilty reader. more ›

While San Franciscans lose their righteous marbles over whether or not to extend parking meter hours, Oakland has pushed back parking enforcement from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. Why? Because it's bad for local businesses. See, very much like San Francisco, not everyone rides bikes or takes public transportation. Yes, while it's not very save-the-planet-y, many families, ilk with disposable income, and people who bleed when you cut them drive motorized vehicles. And those people like to go out to buy stuff, eat at restaurants, and attend various entertainment venues after work. more ›

On viscous news days such as today, we reach into our inbox to see what readers have on their minds. Here's something: more ›

SFist reader Mike sent us the following narrative about a suspicious parking ticket situation that went down this afternoon. Behold. more ›

One of those (dangerous looking) Smart Cars parked perpendicularly, shot by Jim Herd of SFCitizen. Is it legal to park your fun-size car like that, Herd asks? Nope. more ›

Found over at 23rd and Guerrero in the Mission district, SFist Cedric found the above love letter stuck on his windshield. He explains, "I found a spot that was literally three inches longer than my car. And this is the congratulation I get for managing to fit in." more ›

Glen Park, which we have always thought was adorable and near [Update] where SFist Deborah resides, has been experiencing quite a growth spurt recently. New restaurants and businesses have been steadily opening up, renters get more for their money there, and it has its own BART Station. But getting to and from the BART Station has always been a bit of a pain. more ›

For those of you who live in neighborhoods like the Sunnyside, Glen Park, Bernal Heights, and other places many San Francisco residents don't know exist, beware. A new kind of parking ticket is being issued and people are not happy about it. more ›

Local blogger Bunny Land had a bit of trouble when trying to park his scooter the other day. "I parked at a small stretch of curb between two driveways. I avoid this spot, because the first time I parked there, when I came out in the morning there were notes on my scooter" -- e.g., the image at right. more ›

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials plan on capitalizing on the lack of parking spaces in San Francisco with the start of demand-based parking meters. Kicking off today, the idea goes something like this: Underground sensors will monitor the amount of cars cruising for spaces, said info gets sent to the meter, and the meter increases or decreases the hourly rate depending on the space's desirability. What's more, according to SFMTA Judson True, the new meters will also take credit cards. But you'll have to wait to swipe those cards since "the first demand-based parking meters should be operational in the spring." (KCBS) more ›

There's a lot that goes on outside our Tendernob window, most notably the crack being "stealthily" smoked in the boarded-up window across the street by day, and loud, yuppy drunk fest by night. more ›

Well, this is a nifty idea. Sort of. San Francisco resident Jon Somoza came up with a practical and much-needed way for all of you vehicle drivers out there to find some extra parking: a site where people can rent out their unused spaces. The name of the site is GottaPark. What it does is this: provides San Francisco residents with an an online system that allows them to rent out their driveways (by the hour, day, week, month) anytime it's not in use. more ›

Tsk, tsk. But we forgive you because you're pretty. more ›

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All together now: We declare our right on this earth to park our cars within 50 feet of our favorite coffee shops, to be drivers, to be respected as drivers, on this earth, in the Mission, where we intend to find parking wherever we can by any means necessary. more ›

You know what really grinds our gears? more ›

A slow-moving daily parade of idling vehicles stretching up Masonic Avenue more ›

Photo of official SF vehicles parking on a sidewalk more ›