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Your Rights as a Pedestrian

Here’s what to know about your rights as a person walking in San Francisco.

  • In San Francisco, all intersections of streets wider than 25 feet are legal crosswalks, unless they specifically say “no crossing”. Whether a street crossing is marked or unmarked with crosswalk paint, it’s a legal crosswalk.
  • Pedestrians have the right of way; drivers and cyclists are required to yield, i.e., stop behind the line and leave crosswalks free for pedestrians.
  • Cycling on the sidewalk is illegal for anyone over the age of 13.
  • Riding motorized scooters on the sidewalk is illegal.
  • Parking on the sidewalk is illegal. Download the 311 app, call 311, or tweet @sf311 to report illegal sidewalk parking.
  • Also, at nearly every public and private K-12 school citywide, the speed limit for streets in the school area is 15 MPH (this was one of Walk SF’s big wins!). During times when children are present, drivers must obey posted signs for the area within 500 feet of any school located on two-lane streets and reduce their speeds to 15 MPH.

Feel like your rights aren’t always being respected as a pedestrian?

We hear you. And when your rights as a pedestrian aren’t respected, it can be incredibly dangerous. 

That’s why Walk San Francisco exists: to be sure our streets are designed and enforced to keep everyone who walks safe. So become a Walk SF member today and get involved in the movement to make San Francisco the most pedestrian-friendly city in the United States.