Click to see if Street Cleaning is suspended in the next days
Street Cleaning is managed by San Francisco Public Works. They sweep the streets weekly or twice per month in residential areas and at least once per week in commercial areas.
Almost all the neighborhoods are concerned – SOMA, Marina, FiDi, Nob Hill, Mission, Castro, NOPA, North Beach, Russian Hill, etc. So read this guide carefully 🙂
What time is Street Cleaning?
In residential areas, street sweeping tends to happen any time from the early morning to the afternoon. In commercial areas, street sweeping usually happens at night.
You can check our SF street cleaning map to find the hours for your street.
Is it legal to park after the Street Sweeper passes?
In this article, KQED interviewed officer Denise Golden who described the SFMTA street cleaning process in 4 steps:
- The broom support truck, looking for anything that cannot be vacuumed up by the street sweeper
- The street flusher, which has jets underneath the truck that shoot water on the roadway
- The parking ticket officer, citing cars that haven’t moved
- The street sweeper comes last with big brushes and a large tube that vacuums up all the remaining trash on the street
Apparently only the steps 3 and 4 are applied city-wide. The decision to apply the full 4-steps process includes a variety of factors, like which street is being cleaned, which district the street is in, time of year, and if there are special events and what has been requested.
It’s safe to park only if you’ve seen a parking ticket officer citing un-moved cars followed by the street sweeper (if you’ve never seen one it is the heavy truck with big brushes and large vacuum tubes). If you have a doubt, you’d better not park to avoid a street cleaning SF violation.
San Francisco Street Cleaning Holidays
SF Parking Holidays
In residential areas, street cleaning is suspended during the legal holidays listed in the follow.
| Start Date | Parking Holiday | End Date |
| 2024-01-01 | New Year's Day | 2024-01-01 |
| 2024-01-15 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | 2024-01-15 |
| 2024-02-19 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents' Day) | 2024-02-19 |
| 2024-05-27 | Memorial Day | 2024-05-27 |
| 2024-07-04 | Independence Day | 2024-07-04 |
| 2024-09-02 | Labor Day | 2024-09-02 |
| 2024-10-14 | Indigenous Peoples Day | 2024-10-14 |
| 2024-11-11 | Veterans day | 2024-11-11 |
| 2024-11-28 | Thanksgiving Day | 2024-11-28 |
| 2024-11-29 | Day after Thanksgiving | 2024-11-29 |
| 2024-12-25 | Christmas Day | 2024-12-25 |
Special Parking Rules in SF
In areas with 7-day night street sweeping (mostly commercial areas), street cleaning is suspended only on the 3 holidays: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.
Alternatively, you can follow our Twitter account @SFParkingAlerts to be notified when there is a street cleaning holiday in San Francisco.
How much is a Street Cleaning Ticket in SF?
In 2020, violating street cleaning SF will cost you $76! The fine has gone up from $68 (2016) and increases on a yearly basis. It is also the most issued type of ticket among SF parking tickets.
The most ticketed area is Mission St. between 1st and 2nd Street. Almost $300,000 in street cleaning fines were issued on that block in 2016.
So how do I avoid getting a Street Cleaning Ticket?
There are two main reasons why this ticket is so common:
- Parking signs are often hard to understand
- Many people simply forget about it because they didn’t set a reminder/alarm
A few services to track the San Francisco street cleaning schedule are currently available. San Francisco Public Works issued a street sweeping schedule. They also have a map but the search is very complicated and it’s not mobile-friendly. Other companies offer a SF street cleaning map but the data is often missing or inaccurate.
The SpotAngels app is the easiest way to deal with the issue. It is used by thousands of San Francisco residents who constantly keep the parking rules updated. It was featured on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as the best parking app in the US and described as “Waze for parking” and “the parking hero we’ve needed but never had”.
16 Comments
I’m trying to pay a ticket I received in Richmond SF for parking in a spot that was apparently not acceptable(even though there was no sign or indication) due to street cleaning…I lost the ticket and am trying to source the violation online so I can pay or dispute. Can you provide guidance?
You only need your license plate to pay for a parking ticket online https://wmq.etimspayments.com/pbw/include/sanfrancisco/input.jsp
SpotAngels is currently organizing a draw to pay for 3 San Francisco Parking Tickets. Here is why we’re doing it and how to enter the draw: https://www.spotangels.com/blog/get-your-sf-parking-ticket-paid-for/
I was parked waiting for a passenger when the sfmta officer came up behind me and honked for me to move. I did. He still gave me a ticket. Is that legal?
Unfortunately the officer can ticket you if you are parked during street cleaning.
The City is working on my street and there are signs all over that say Detour & Street closed, Do I still need to move my car since the sign is at the corner of my house and the work continues to the next street? I doubt the street cleaner will only be able to do about 20 ft, and if I’m not mistaken the truck is about 20Ft long. Do I still have to move?
Best would be to call San Francisco Public Works in this particular case.
Can you fight a ticket when there is not an obvious street cleaning sign on the block?
Yes you can. The San Francisco Traffic Code Sec. 1001 stipulates “…the signs shall not be placed more than 200 feet apart. The signs shall indicate by legible letters, words and figures the hours prescribed for said Parking restrictions within 100 feet on either side of the sign…” http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/transportation/divisionii/article1000miscellaneousparkingandtraffi?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:sanfrancisco_ca$anc=JD_1004
Does your site calendar and announce street sweeps of unhoused persons and tent dwellers? If not, why not? And if not, where is the info posted? Thanks!
Is SFMTA have the right to change the law under certain circumstances? I disputed a street cleaning ticket which clearly shows the signs were vandalized and they were not visible. I sent in images indicating the signs defaced and they still ruled it was a valid ticket. How can that be? The signs still have not been fixed and they still give tickets. Is there any recourse to this?
The sign said 2nd and 4th tuesday of the month and today (may 29 2018) was the 5th tueday. Why did they give me a ticket? Thanks!!
Sorry to hear. You can fight the ticket here: https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/drive-park/citations/contest-citation
Hi, I received a citation for street cleaning under violation section TRC7.2.22 – STREET CLEANING on 05/24/2018. The sign says street cleaning every 2nd and 4th Week of the month 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. I was 8 minutes late to remove my car from the parking spot, I received citation from the SFMTA officer at 9:08 AM. Is there any way to dismiss or fight for this citation as I was only 8 minutes late or do I have to pay the full amount $73?
Unfortunately you’ll have to pay this one.
When you receive a street cleaning citation, do they give you a paper ticket on your dashboard or will a ticket be mailed to you?
They give you a paper ticket on your dashboard. You can always look up if you have a citation by entering your license plate on this city website https://wmq.etimspayments.com/pbw/include/sanfrancisco/input.jsp