There's a parking miscalculation every San Franciscan with a vehicle eventually makes: leaving your car in a street cleaning zone during the day and hours street sweepers approach. But every thorn has its rose, and though getting a ticket for mistaking the second Friday for the third (or whatever) sucks, that bitterness is counteracted by the parking sweetness you get when you arrive on an empty street after the sweeper has passed. But what if the time constraints remain, and the freshly-cleaned streets bear signs saying it's still verboten to park for the next hour or so? Do you park?

As parking and traffic fines went up as of July, this risk seems riskier than ever. You can see the SFMTA's current full roster of fines here, in which it's noted that the ticket you'll get for a street cleaning violation rose from $71 to $73 last month. While logic and sense might tell you that there's no reason not to park on an already-cleaned street, many might argue that neither logic nor sense dictate many of the SFMTA's regulations.

But in this case, they do! So reports KQED, which was asked “If you see a street cleaner come through on a street cleaning day, can you park on the block before the end of the NO PARKING time frame that’s posted?”

According to SFMTA traffic enforcement officer Denise Golden, who spoke with KQED, yes, you may — but first, you need to be sure the full cycle of street sweeping has taken place.

The first vehicle in the street cleaning parade is the broom support truck. A worker picks up large items off the street - things like big pieces of wood or an abandoned chair — and chucks them into this truck. They’re looking for anything that cannot be vacuumed up by the street sweeper.

Next comes the street flusher, which is used mostly on commercial streets like Market and Mission. The flusher has jets underneath the truck that shoot water on the roadway, loosening grime and grit.

Third in line is the parking ticket officer, citing cars that haven’t moved.

Finally, the street sweeper comes along with big brushes and a large tube that vacuums up all the remaining trash on the street.

Of course, as with many things from the SFMTA, the practice differs from the official account. According to John Sheehan, whose official job title with the city is "truck driver" but who KQED says sweeps streets in Noe Valley, "it’s usually a two-step process: The parking enforcement person moves ahead of him and then he alone cleans the street."

But whatever the case, be it two, four, or six steps, the bottom line remains: If you see the huge truck with the big tube and brushes pass by, it's safe to park, even if signs in the area claim you're still within the forbidden hours. At least, that's what the SFMTA said that day. Have you had a different experience?

Previously: Report: San Franciscans Spend 83 Hours Per Year Looking For Parking