'Twas the night before Christmas

And you drove to the City.

Parking rules can be confusing and tricky.

At the end of the year with the bills that you owe,

The last thing you need is to be ticketed or towed.

The Night Before Christmas:
Humbug. Everything is enforced as usual on Christmas Eve.  But at 12:00AM, it becomes Christmas Day.

Christmas Day 2013
What will not be enforced on Christmas Day:
•    Commuter Tow-Away (ex. No Parking 3PM - 7 PM on the Embarcadero)
•    Residential Permit Areas
•    M-F Daytime Street Sweeping (ex. Street Sweeping Thursday 8-10 am)
•    7-Day Street Sweeping
•    SF Parking Meters and Port Authority Parking Meters
•    Non-Residential 1-Hour and 2-Hour Zones

What will be enforced on Christmas Day:   
•    White Zones, Green Zones, Some Yellow Zones (check the fine print on each particular sign about holidays), Blue Zones, Red Zones, Blocked Driveways, Uncurbed Wheels, Parking on Sidewalks, Parking in Tunnels, etc.

The Day After Christmas
The day after Christmas (otherwise known as Thursday) may feel like a holiday and you may be out partying, or you may be out shopping for holiday sales, or you may be sleeping, but remember, it is not a holiday.  For those visiting, or off from work, it is one of the biggest parking space out days. It will typically dawn on you around noon, "Uh oh, is today street sweeping day? Is it still a holiday? Where did I park?" And your visiting in-laws from the country get to witness a big city parking freakout and scramble.

A further distinction to remember is that December 26th begins at 12:00AM, so if you're out on the night of 25th and you leave your car parked for the night in a Thursday night street sweeping zone, or in a morning commuter tow away zone,  your holiday buzz will quickly be killed.

Wherever you park on Wednesday, look at the signs and ask yourself if that spot is also safe on Thursday.  If not, set an alarm to remind yourself to move it.

If you can't be bothered by all of the rules this holiday week, keep it simple: When you park, look up and down the street for 100 feet for any enforceable sign, and ask your self what day is it, what time is it, and spend your holiday cash on something other than a parking ticket.   

Happy Holidays, and to all a good night.

David LaBua is the author of Finding the Sweet Spot,a leader in the sustainable urban mobility movement, and founder of VoicePark, the world’s first voice-guided mobile app guiding drivers to the closest available parking spot in real-time...for free. You can follow him on twitter@ParkingGuru.