Dear Parking Guru,
 
I am new to SF, so not up to speed with all of the rules, regulations, and inside info. After my recent experience this weekend, I was pointed promptly in your direction by a buddy of mine and I'm hoping you can help. Here is my situation:
 
My car got stolen Friday night, I filed a report Saturday morning and retrieved a voicemail upon waking up Sunday morning that they found my car around Dolores Park and I need to pick up my car. Here's the twist. The call came at 4 am and because I did not pick up, they towed my car, and now I have to pay $600 to pick it up!!

Dear Parking Guru,
 
First off, thank you for your wisdom! I am an avid sign reader and hunter of the "secret spots" that you write about. But, I am also paranoid about getting a ticket and mentally filing away your info helps to lessen the paranoia. I read a recent post of yours in 7x7 about churches and strip clubs and the passenger loading zones they have in common and it triggered a question...what's the deal with traffic lanes turning into parking on Sundays in the Tenderloin? I've not seen any signs indicating the phenomenon is legitimate (though that may be because I'm too busy looking for legal parking). More importantly, how does SFMTA know (or do they) that the vehicles parked there are associated with churchgoers? And most importantly, can I park there within "church hours" when I'm going to brunch in the area without the fear of a ticket?
 
Sincerely,
Ms. Striving to Stay Ticket-free
 

Dear Parking Guru,
 
I live just one block from Mission Street, so parking in my area is naturally quite competitive. Like many others living in this area, my roommate and I must seek out available public parking on a regular basis. We knew what we were getting into as far as parking scarcity in the neighborhood we moved to and we're ok with being a part of the normal competition for parking spaces. But not everyone plays fair.

There is an obscure rule in San Francisco, under the government "open space" act that allows parking spaces to be used for things other than parking. You can pay for two hours at a meter in the middle of the Financial District at high noon, and that parking space is your open space to do what you see fit. You can put $3 in the meter, roll out some sod, sit in a lounge chair and read a book, or hold a lunchtime dance party and you will be perfectly street legal.