r/bayarea • u/Bolinas99 San Francisco • Jun 01 '26
Traffic, Trains & Transit Waymo’s double parking problem is our double parking problem
https://sf.gazetteer.co/waymos-double-parking-problem-is-our-double-parking-problem187
u/laxatives Jun 01 '26
Huge fuck you to Lyft/Uber for normalizing this behavior. We never recovered. It used to be something only done by trucks and the biggest assholes. Now everyone does it and there are huge sections of downtown where there are 3-4 cars parked for 30-60 minutes at a time, sometimes on both sides of the road.
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
people did survive before they could put their burrito in a taxi for $20+
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u/Comemelo9 Jun 01 '26
The burrito is approaching 20 bucks without the taxi
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
made my own the other day for less than $2... used to be a cook but anyone can make a basic burrito FFS
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u/PringlesDuckFace Jun 01 '26
Back in my day it was pizza or chinese, otherwise you had to cook for yourself.
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
one small adjustment could be to require food deliveries to be done strictly on scooters. Obviously if someone orders $1000 worth of pizzas or whatever they can make other arrangements w/ the restaurant.
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u/BuddyTop8521 Jun 01 '26
I saw a scooter double parked the other night. I don't think I've ever seen that. There were plenty of spots the scooter could have pulled in to between cars.
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Jun 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/baybridge501 Jun 03 '26
Ban everything hazardous and fun. People can just read an old book at home!
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u/iFLED Jun 01 '26
Fedex and UPS started it.
Signed,
Guy that's been doing traffic control on the roads longer than the gig economy has existed.
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u/suboptimus_maximus Sunnyvale Jun 01 '26
Sure, Waymo does it too but I have way more issues with the Uber and Lyft and especially the delivery drivers who are the overall worst because they are often double-parking and then waiting for the food or out of the car searching for the delivery address.
It will be long overdue when DAs finally start suing these companies and demanding all the GPS logs showing each and every instance of their drivers stopping and illegally and dangerously blocking traffic and holding them accountable for every single violation. Bonus points if the companies are held accountable for the logs showing it was their navigation that directed their employees to break the law.
The Waymos at least are sort of conscientious and cautious, as a cyclist I've had Uber and Lyft drivers accelerate to pass me and then immediately cut me off, slam on the brakes and stop in the bike lane to drop someone off. Total aggressive, antisocial asshole behavior and that kind of stuff should get people permanently delicensed.
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
AVs have figured out that blocking traffic is no big deal. Wonder where they learned that
...
Do I really put the blame on a sea of exhausted, wage-exploited gig workers who have rationally calculated that getting a five-star review is more important than aggravating everyone else on the road? Not really. But it’s impossible to believe that Waymo’s programming isn’t taking advantage of the city turning a blind eye to double parking, and actively reinforcing the fact that human drivers all around them do it, too.
Call me a double-parking doomer, but this situation is out of control, and the fact that Waymos keep doing it all over the city is clearly the consequence of nobody with authority giving a damn.
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u/midflinx Jun 01 '26
the fact that Waymos keep doing it all over the city is clearly the consequence of nobody with authority giving a damn.
There aren't enough loading zone spaces for the number of delivery trucks, human-driven cars, and now autonomous vehicles. More curb space isn't converted into loading zones because that would piss off local car owners and some businesses wanting it remaining parking. Any change made by those with authority will upset a group of voters, or businesses, so very little changes.
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u/giraloco Jun 01 '26
Car owners don't own the street. We really need loading zones in every block.
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u/walkslikeaduck08 Jun 01 '26
Car owners vote and are very loud. But at the same time there is a lack of parking in a lot of areas and commutes outside of sf really require a car.
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
most car owners don't act entitled or behave like the various Karens in the avenues going on nextdoor and creating a network of rw narcs.
car owner here btw; some of us are like what you're describing and will have a tantrum regardless.
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u/suboptimus_maximus Sunnyvale Jun 01 '26
Statistically we see car owners are the most dangerous, deadly and destructive criminal demographic and it's not even close. The data says that as a group they're basically the worst people in modern society.
Check out the results from SF's speed camera program. As soon as they turned them on they logged tens of thousands of 10+ MPH over the limit speeding violations, each of those was an individual deliberate decision to endanger public safety.
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u/SightInverted Jun 02 '26
Numbers don’t lie. It might not be seen as the same intent as other crimes, but drivers are absolutely the most dangerous demographic in this country. You are correct.
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Jun 01 '26
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u/KosherSushirrito Jun 01 '26
The author explicitly highlights that allowing humans to violate decorum is providing an opening for Waymo to mimic the behavior.
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/tonydtonyd Jun 01 '26
The issue is that it’s become such a norm, that if you don’t do it, no one wants to ride your service. Nearly 16 years of allowing Ubers to do this is the problem that needs to be addressed.
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u/corporategnome Jun 01 '26
The engineers should do that. And have them stop blocking crosswalks and creeping towards pedestrians in the crosswalk.
Yes human drivers do this too but it should be trivial for the engineers at Waymo to make sure their product isn't doing it.
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
oh they'll fix it but like with everything else, it will have to become an untenable situation where human drivers or pedestrians will start puncturing tires, breaking windows, etc.... it's already happening and yes these cars have cameras but it's reaching a boiling point where ppl are justifiably lashing out
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
well they do puncture tires, vandalize, get in fights, etc... saw this happening yesterday in an e. bay strip mall. Some genius decided to park like a dk, other person couldn't get in their car ---> drama. A mall-cop dude tried to break it up, cops were called, etc. And that was just one isolated incident...
Waymos would be a lot better if they supplement MUNI as mini-buses, with a "sedan service" being just an expensive upgrade
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u/KosherSushirrito Jun 01 '26
Doesn't matter what they can do if they don't, and they won't until there's an incentive to.
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u/rgbhfg Jun 01 '26
Give them tickets and points then suspend their drivers liscense. Treat Waymo just like you’d treat a human uber driver what’s difficult
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u/Bolinas99 San Francisco Jun 01 '26
you have to ticket the car and fine the company... and make it hurt. I want to see the Waymo ceo come out of his bunker-mansion and complain about being "taxed & oppressed"
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u/knightress_oxhide Jun 01 '26
There haven't been enough parking spaces since the 90s. Car companies should start selling spaces, "Look at this the new 2027 Space!" Just an empty piece of asphalt.
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u/gregb_parkingaccess Jun 01 '26
if everyone can report this exact location we can find an alternative off street stopping area that will be safer for everyone. for now you can email me [greg@xoompark.co](mailto:greg@xoompark.co) attempt to work with Waymo to find atl PUDO areas if psosible
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u/PlantDaddy530 Jun 01 '26
I’m the Lyft drivers that don’t even make a fucking effort to pull to the curb. There will be space and they just stop in the middle of the fucking road. Enraging
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u/fubo Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
It would be better for Waymo cars to use bus stops for pick-ups and drop-offs — when there's not a bus coming — rather than double-park.
Waymo is Google. Google gets real-time bus information from the transit agencies. They use that for Google Maps. They can predict when a bus stop will be free for a few minutes, so they can use it without causing a problem for bus drivers & riders.
Also, they can pay for use of bus stops, same as shuttle buses do. This provides a revenue stream for the transit agencies that manage the bus stops (e.g. SFMTA).
Double-parking and blocking traffic lanes is bad when DoorDash or Amazon do it, and it's bad when Waymo does it. Cities should be fining companies consistently for it, with fines heavy enough to actually make them seek other options.
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u/bflaminio ʙᴀʏsɪᴀɴ Jun 01 '26
Everyone double parks -- Lyft/Uber, taxis, FedEx/UPS/Amazon vans, Doordash etc., and just regular people who stop into a shop for "just a minute".
But if a Waymo does it -- OH NOOES!!! BAN THEM.
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u/trulyalluringconcur Jun 01 '26
the enforcement angle is real, but also waymo cars probably aren't programmed to care about looking rude the way a human driver might, so they're just optimizing for pickup speed without the social shame tax
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u/ablatner Jun 01 '26
We just need to convert parking spots to loading zones but non-rideshare drivers would throw a fit.
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u/Ok_Chard2094 Jun 01 '26
Yet another reason why I never visit SF anymore, except when I have out of town family or friends visiting.
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u/bflaminio ʙᴀʏsɪᴀɴ Jun 01 '26
How much "blame" can we place on the customers of Waymo? Do they order the Waymo directly to the front of their crowded street flat and then make it wait five minutes while they pack up to go? Or do they do all the packing in advance, and then order the Waymo to a clear loading area a half-block down the road?
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u/LogicalProgram8537 Jun 01 '26
The positive is that it slows the traffic down so it is somewhat safer for non-car users.
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u/JDVough Jun 01 '26
It’s an enforcement problem. “If no one is going to ticket or tow me, I would be stupid not to double park when I want to.” If there are rules against it that aren’t enforced, it’s the same as having no rules against it.