The Uncommon Parking Tactic That Becomes Important To Master In San Francisco

San Francisco is famous for its steep, picturesque streets. If you're hoping to get in your 10,000 steps or are hopping on and off the iconic cable cars during your visit, you don't have to worry about much. But if you're driving around the city, it's a good idea to brush up on parking best practices. Navigating the city's hills is important for safety and can prevent you from incurring a fine!

When you're parking on a slope — which you will be doing, a lot — you need to remember to curb your tires, as it's one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make when driving in San Francisco. Instead of lining the car up completely straight, you'll angle your wheels toward the curb. This prevents the car from rolling into the car parked behind or in front of it, or worse, into traffic, if your brakes fail. While it might seem like an unlikely situation, it's always better to be safe than sorry.  You'll also want to remember to engage your parking brake to prevent accidents when parking on one of the city's steep hills.

If you're parking on a street without a curb, you should still angle your tires to roll away from the street. So, if you're parking facing uphill, turn your front wheels away from the road, to the left, towards the sidewalk. If you're parking facing down the slope, you'll turn your front wheels to the right. Always position the car with enough space to roll back or forward gently until you feel the curb or edge of the street. If you don't drive often or want to practice curbing your wheels a few times, look for a quiet street where you can get comfortable with it in a low-stress environment. You can receive a fine of over $60 if you forget to curb your tires when parking on a hill with a 3% or greater incline in San Francisco. That can be pretty tough to determine with the naked eye, so it's best to do it even if you're parking on a street that doesn't seem dramatically steep.

It can also help to brush up on your parallel parking skills. You'll feel a lot more confident parallel parking on a hill when you're comfortable doing it on flat streets, so consider practicing a few times before your trip. Fortunately, San Francisco has quality streets that are wide and relatively smooth, which can make parking easier. However, it's also a very pedestrian-friendly city, so be sure to look out for people and cyclists.

A study conducted by Walk Score rated San Francisco as the most walkable city in North America, citing its excellent public transport network as one of the many reasons it's so easy to explore without a car. In fact, the local government is making conscious efforts to discourage driving and make the city more pedestrian-friendly. Reliable buses, cable cars, street cars, and safe bike lanes mean locals and visitors can get around in a more eco-friendly and efficient way. It's also a great workout once you get used to those hills!

The city's most iconic landmarks, like Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf and the Painted Ladies, as well as bustling neighborhoods like Chinatown, are easily accessible on foot — though you'll probably still want to take the ferry to Alcatraz. San Francisco is also one of the best U.S. cities for history buffs, and both the Presidio and Fort Point are musts for your itinerary. Walking through the city allows you to take it all in and appreciate the array of historic architecture, and uncover charming cafés and parks along the way. So, ditch the car and enjoy a more leisurely pace without having to worry about parking rules at all.