As of January 6, 2013, all SFMTA parking meters in San Francisco will be enforced on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. with four hour time limits.
Parking has traditionally been free on Sundays since parking meters were first installed in the 1940s. At that time, most businesses were closed on Sundays, so there was no need to use parking meters to create parking availability. Now, parking demand is the same on Sundays as on Saturdays, so San Francisco is finally updating its parking management to help businesses and motorists.
The primary goal in charging for parking is to make sure that motorists can easily find a place to park in commercial areas, which is currently very hard on Sundays. The city says it will be easier to find a parking space on Sundays, which is good for business, motorists, and the transportation system. By reducing the amount of time motorists search for parking, the city hopes to achieve a variety of other benefits, including:
• Reduced frustration for all motorists.
• More successful neighborhood commercial districts, which rely on parking availability for many of their customers.
• Reduced traffic congestion, which in turn results in faster Muni travel times.
• All meter revenue returns to the SFMTA to help fund Muni. Investing in Muni speed, frequency and reliability improvements can help reduce parking demand, freeing up more spaces for those who need them.
Meter rates on Sundays will be the same as they are on Saturday.