SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — ABC 10News reporter Olivia Gonzalez-Britt found Jad Beydoun on Reddit after his wife posted about a pretty convincing “parking ticket” he got in Hillcrest.
“I thought was a real ticket at first cause I got into my car and I started driving and then I noticed like something with violation on it, And then I got out of my car and I looked at it, read it more carefully,” Beydoun said.
It cited him for a Daylighting violation; parking too close to an intersection. The $100 notice warned about additional fines, arrest and/or vehicle seizure.
Until you read the small print at the bottom:
It reads, “Finally, this ticket was issued by a concerned citizen and is not an actual fine. This ticket is for entertainment purposes only.”
“I was like 'Why? Why is that illegal to park here?'" Beydoun asked himself.
Turns out, parking in corner spots in intersections just like the one he parked at, have been illegal since Janurary. Even if the curb isn’t painted red.
“I didn't know Daylighting was a thing, so first I was like, 'Why would anyone do that?' But then, the more we read about it, the more I saw good intentions,'” Beydoun said.
Thanks to a fake ticket with real info, Beydoun now knows the law. But not everyone does.
From January through May, San Diego has issued 6,133 citations for Daylighting violations.
At $117 per fine, that adds up to more than $717,000, and it could help to balance the city budget on the backs of confused drivers.
The City Council also just approved a larger package of parking reforms, including rate increases and future fee hikes at places like Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo.
"It's already pretty bad, especially when you go to an area like Little Italy where it's already extremely hard to park," Beydoun said.
The law applies even if there are no signs.
“If like every extension of the corner is going to be taken now you lose 8 spots on every block," Beydoun said.
So far, the city says it’s painted red curbs at more than 400 intersections in high-traffic and crash-prone areas, and it plans to add more during street projects and resurfacing.
“I just hope parking gets easier," Beydoun said. "That's that's it.”
Because in San Diego, now the hardest thing to find, may just be a legal place to park.
