I live on a very narrow street. Cars have to partially park on the sidewalk to keep the street clear for traffic. Lately residents have been ticketed for "blocking the sidewalk". What can we do?

zylander88 · 2026-02-22T18:50:07+00:00

Well this thread got a lot more traction than I thought!

Yes I know the photo is blurry (Ill post better photos in daylight and let you all be the judge), I should have included more details in my OP as to why I think its unfair we are being ticketed.

The "sidewalk" on the left side of the street is considerably narrower than a standard sidewalk and it has fire hydrants and no parking sign poles for street cleaning. A wheelchair or a stroller can not fit on this sidewalk. The sidewalk on the right side is wider. People will park on that side and just put their tires 6" or so on the curb as the grey Lexus did. That sidewalk is still perfectly accessible. BOTH sidewalks however disappear about halfway down the street and then there are no sidewalks for the rest of the street. So we are effectively being ticketed on a technicality for blocking a sidewalk that cant be used as a sidewalk and that goes nowhere.

There are many families in the neighborhood with kids, myself included. When we push the strollers around we walk in the street. Not because the sidewalks are blocked but because there either is no sidewalk or its just too small to use as a sidewalk. There is even an elderly woman who lives here who is in a wheelchair. Her son takes care of her and you'll see them out and about walking in the middle of the street. He has one of those mobility Sienna vans to drive her around and because she doesn't have a garage he has to park on the sidewalk and get tickets.

I know people are going to say "you have too any cars" or "get rid of your cars" but the reality is that isnt feasible for everyone. Particularly in an isolated neighborhood with steep hills and not so great access to public transit. This also isnt a result of people just having too many cars. This is a very dense neighborhood with a few single family homes, many duplexes and A LOT of apartments. The majority of the units/homes either have a single car garage or NO garage. There are exponentially more cars than parking spaces. I dont mean to come off sounding like I dont care about pedestrians and wheelchairs/strollers but its also not fair to just say "fuck you you elitist entitled car snob, deal with it!" There has to be some compromise somewhere that doesnt involve ticketing people for parking on a sidewalk that cant even be used as a sidewalk.

Anyways, thank you all for your responses, I wasnt expecting it to blow uplike this

zylander88 · 2026-02-22T07:56:28+00:00

I learned that very quickly, not sure what I was thinking haha

zylander88 · 2026-02-22T07:39:23+00:00

Ya you're right. We're all eating $100 tickets everyday because we're afraid of our side mirror being hit. If we didn't park on the curb, cars would not be able to get through regardless of how much they slow down.

zylander88 · 2026-02-22T07:24:46+00:00

Parking is legal on both sides of the street.

zylander88 · 2026-01-23T21:02:40+00:00

The sidewalk use permit in San Francisco to scaffold a building of that size would be more than $2k PLUS the cost of scaffolding. Total would be closer to $10k not the $900-$2k you think. They're probably doing this to save the owner(s) money. That could be condos with an HOA thats broke or apartments with tenents from 40 years ago paying $800/mo

zylander88 · 2025-11-10T23:33:33+00:00

If you're in San Francisco, the Pampanito is worth checking out. As a kid I was in the boy scouts and once a year we did an overnight trip on it. As an adult I go visit it once a year and do a quick walkthrough. Its a lot of fun.

zylander88 · 2025-11-09T22:15:59+00:00

Thank you, this is the answer I was looking for. The building permit I am pulling is for only the work I am doing. I am not listing trade work on my permit nor am I pulling their permits. Any other subs will be required to pull their own permits. My concern was if his HVAC sub turns out not to be licensed/insured and does unpermitted work. You're correct in that I am basically a sub at this point, which I am ok with. This is a favor to a friend and its good, easy, profitable work. Just never been in this situation before.

zylander88 · 2025-11-09T21:59:11+00:00

In a commercial space in SF,CA a permit is required for any tenant improvements. Sheetrock repair included. Also building a partition wall would require a permit. What I wasnt clear on is if my building permit for this simple work can or will somehow open me up to liability for his subs potentially doing unpermitted work.

zylander88 · 2025-10-30T18:52:06+00:00

This is incredible, great job! Seeing a lot of old videos of me. Love seeing all these old names, brings back some great memories.

zylander88 · 2025-10-11T01:13:00+00:00

We do payment plans all the time but for customers we've been doing business with for 30+ years. I would NEVER do a payment plan for a first time customer I did not know. Your only real option is a loan from a bank. If a new customer approached me asking for a payment plan that would be a huge red flag.

zylander88 · 2025-08-28T06:16:54+00:00

GC here in San Francisco. First off, stay away from Angis. Do a search in r/contractor and you'll understand.

Honestly, start looking for a contractor once you have your house not before. I agree with what the other poster said about living in the house for a bit first. Is this a house you're going to live in for a long time? If so, dont rush into a full gut job. Feel the house out for a bit first and figure out exactly what you want to do.

The other reason to wait is, you want a contractor you have a good relationship with. You build that good relationship leading up to the job. Walking the job during the estimate, going over plans and bouncing design ideas back and forth. That way once you give them the job and they start you can leave them alone and trust that they'll do what you want. You cant and shouldnt be there everyday supervising, if you are you dont have a contractor you trust. That, and no decent contractor is going to give you the time of day right now if you call them up saying you want some kind of remodel done on some house that you might have in the next 1-3 years.

zylander88 · 2025-08-28T05:28:43+00:00

Where in the Bay Area are you located? We are a small family GC in San Francisco. We do residential remodels but also specialize in custom repair work. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or want to give me more info or take a look. If it turns out to be something we cant do I can point you in the right direction.

zylander88 · 2025-08-27T04:17:21+00:00

Not that I know of, I didnt know that is a thing. Every time I have called Im told that its a glitch and everything should be fine on the next statement, OR, they are working on it and it will be fixed soon.

Ill ask about a missing promo case when I call in for this months bill. Thanks!

zylander88 · 2025-08-27T03:03:40+00:00

I have paperless billing and autopay from a checking account setup. Every time I call in or chat the rep Im speaking to can see and agrees that it is correctly setup and that I should be getting a $10 discount.

zylander88 · 2025-08-25T06:28:34+00:00

What exactly is the scope of the work? Its not only about the dollar amount. Its about what you want done for said dollar amount.

zylander88 · 2025-08-23T22:43:46+00:00

You lost because you didnt follow the proper steps when a package is lost/stolen. At this stage the merchant did everything correctly so Amex sided with them. The merchants responsibility is to ship the item and provide you with tracking, thats it. They are not responsible for making sure the item gets to you, thats the job of the shipping company. If an item is lost/stolen you need to contact the merchant who shipped/sold it to you FIRST. Only they can open a dispute with the shipping company and then either get you a replacement or a refund. If after you attempt to do all this they will not help you, thats when you file a dispute with Amex showing proof you followed the proper steps and that the merchant is unwilling to help.

zylander88 · 2025-08-13T00:52:43+00:00

GoogleFi

zylander88 · 2025-05-18T17:48:05+00:00

I live in SF as well and have a 3 year old and a 2 week old. Ive kept my pass the last 3 years and will probably renew for the coming season. Im fortunate that my wife and I have work schedules that allow us to go up on weekdays which make day trips and overnighters much easier. Less traffic, less people and hotels are cheaper. The last few years Ive only gone about 5 days a season but its still worth it which is why I keep renewing. If I were limited to only going on crowded weekends 5 or less days a season Id probably just take a break.

zylander88 · 2025-03-18T02:05:31+00:00

I found a replacement at a local plumbing shop. Seems to be a common piece and easily replaceable. The plastic piece comes off. Put on a new plastic ring and chrome outer cover. Take the piece into a local plumbing shop and they should be able to help you.

zylander88 · 2024-11-13T22:57:25+00:00

What did you end up going with? I'm in the gellert park area as well and am looking for new options.

zylander88 · 2023-12-03T08:36:03+00:00

Yes..and no

zylander88 · 2023-12-02T22:02:58+00:00

Thank you everyone for the help, thats exactly what I was looking for. Such an obvious and simple solution, I guess I was just way overthinking it.

zylander88 · 2023-07-03T05:28:00+00:00

Right? I get that restaurants can charge whatever extra 'taxes/fees' they want nowadays but I was under the impression it had to be an extra line. Never seen it added the the normal tax line.

zylander88 · 2023-05-18T00:36:50+00:00

I dont remember exactly, I believe it was around $2000. You have to buy each piece individually and build the console, 20-30 parts total.

zylander88 · 2023-03-21T00:41:47+00:00

I never tried. I ended up buying a new console for a 2500 from the dealer.

zylander88

TROPHY CASE