Last month, Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced legislation that bans oversized vehicles from parking on all city streets for more than 2 hours at a time, essentially creating a citywide ban on oversized vehicles.
As a member of the End Poverty Tows Coalition, we are alarmed and concerned about this policy. This legislation directly targets the hundreds of families and individuals who are experiencing vehicular homelessness in San Francisco, without providing adequate support. One of the justifications given for this policy is in the name of improving street safety, however we know that it will not have a favorable impact and will likely create more obstacles to street safety projects.
On July 15, the Board of Supervisors voted to pass the Mayor’s legislation with only two votes against it from Supervisors Walton and Fielder. We are extremely disappointed in this vote.
We submitted letters of opposition in solidarity with the End Poverty Tows Coalition to the SFMTA Board of Directors, the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee, and the full Board of Supervisors. Read our letter of opposition below or see the letter in pdf format.
July 15, 2025
Board of Supervisors
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Room 250, City Hall
San Francisco, CA 94102
RE: Opposition to agenda item 40 – Large and Commercial Vehicle Parking Restrictions, Citywide RV Ban
Dear President Mandelman and Supervisors,
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s legislation to restrict oversized vehicle parking on all city streets for more than two hours, essentially creating a citywide ban on vehicles being used as housing, is deeply concerning to us at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. It goes against our core value of transportation justice and perpetuates a destructive approach to an already marginalized community.
This plan focuses on an enforcement first approach rather than providing the proper resources that every San Franciscan should expect of their city government. Enforcement-first policies target and over penalize marginalized communities and don’t resolve the root of the problem. If this plan gets implemented as is, it will result in towing and displacement, leading to more people living on the streets. It will not result in safer streets.
In our work with the End Poverty Tows Coalition, we saw firsthand how the City’s inability to address vehicular homelessness impacts street safety projects. The southbound lane between Middlefield Dr and Brotherhood Way in the Lake Merced Blvd Quick-Build remains incomplete because a safe relocation site has not been identified for people living in their vehicles – an effort since abandoned. Only a few of the RV residents around Lake Merced received help from the City, most of them scattered across SF and remain unsettled.
If our city leaders continue to put forward bad faith solutions that don’t resolve the root cause, we will continue to face roadblocks to street safety and transportation projects. An RV ban won’t resolve these problems and may in fact exacerbate them. We need real efforts to provide secure and long-term housing that help people get off the streets permanently, and more funding for programs that prevent people from becoming unhoused. That’s how the City can make our streets safer, not criminalizing poverty through mass displacement.
As transportation advocates, we stand against inadequate policies that create instability and perpetuate harm in the name of safe streets. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition urges the Board of Supervisors to oppose the citywide 2-hour parking restrictions for oversized vehicles.
Respectfully,
Rachel Clyde
Westside Community Organizer
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
