New law for parking near intersections in effect
Pedestrian fatalities are on the rise, and a new law meant to improve safety is now in effect.
Known casually as the “Daylighting Law,” Assembly Bill 413 prohibits vehicles from parking within 20 feet of the approach of a crosswalk in California. For crosswalks with a curb extension (also known as a bulb out), parking within 15 feet is prohibited.
Although it went into effect in 2024, the law began with a grace period, in which municipalities could issue warnings, rather than citations. The law is now in full effect.
The law does not require that cities mark these 20-feet zones, and instead places the responsibility on driver to comply.
“In preparation for AB 413 taking effect,” said Kelli Maples, Coronado’s senior management analyst, “the city reviewed its streets last year for compliance and identified 13 locations where t-boxes, diagonal parking lines, blue zones, or conflicting markings were within the restricted areas. City staff subsequently removed the conflicting markings and signage in those locations.”
Maples said a review of traffic report found no recommendations related to pedestrian collisions caused by limited visibility, but that the city will continue to monitor reports and adjust intersection and street design if the city deems it necessary.
Curb extensions are another measure meant to enhance pedestrian safety. The city in 2023 installed them along Ocean Boulevard. The United States Department of Transportation reports that bulb-outs and other traffic-calming techniques decrease pedestrian collisions.
Violations of the daylighting law will yield a $65 fine, along with a $12.50 administrative fee.
Currently, 43 states have passed similar laws.
As the law does not require painted curbs, drivers must determine for themselves whether they are parked far enough from a crosswalk. The average car in the United States is 14.7 feet long, according to Cartelligent, so leaving a space of about one and a half car lengths before crosswalks without curb extensions is an easy metric for estimation.
TRICARE Online Patient Portal will decommission in April
The Department of Defense is shifting its online healthcare portal, and beneficiaries are encouraged to download their health records from the former system before it is decommissioned on April 1.
The TRICARE Online Patient Portal, or TOL, will be discontinued in favor of a new system, MHS Genesis. Beneficiaries can sign up for the new system here.
Healthcare providers will still have access to patients’ full health records. However, if patients would like their own copies, they must download them from TOL before April 1.
TRICARE has released instructions for downloading legacy health records. Read them here.
“All military hospitals and clinics have transitioned to MHS GENESIS,” said Rear Adm. Tracy Farrill, Principal Deputy, Assistant Director for Health Care Administration, and Military Health System EHR Functional Champion at the Defense Health Agency, in a statement. “We encourage you to take these important steps to save your personal health records before the TOL Patient Portal decommissions. Your medical history is a valuable resource for managing your health, and saving your records now ensures you have access if you need it.”
More information on the change is available here.
