August 2025: Traffic Enforcement Surges as Speed Cameras Go Live

Mixed data on businesses: Business closures slow, but new business registrations lag.

Key Takeaways

• 🚨 Traffic Citations: Citations jumped 20.8% citywide as new speed cameras and expanded enforcement hit San Francisco streets. 👉 Dashboard link

• 📞 311 Sidewalk Parking Reports: Surged 84% from 2,904 in July to 4,137 in August, with web-based reporting more than doubling and a single-day spike of 383 reports on August 23rd.

• 🚫 Business Closures: Plummeted by 45.7% from July to August, with only 207 closures citywide compared to 381 in July, marking a significant improvement in business retention. 👉 Dashboard link

• 🏢 Business Registrations: Dropped by 27.1% from July to August, with 845 new registrations compared to 1,159 in July, suggesting a potential cooling in business formation. 👉 Dashboard link

The Story in Data

🚦 Traffic Enforcement Intensifies Across the City

The introduction of California's first automatic speed enforcement pilot, the Speed Safety Camera Program, has been a game-changer. Launched on August 5, 2025, this program deployed 33 speed cameras across the city, targeting school zones and high-crash areas. The cameras have already shown promise, with a 30% reduction in speeding events during a 60-day warning phase. Mayor Daniel Lurie has championed the program as a crucial safety measure, emphasizing its role in protecting vulnerable populations rather than generating revenue.

The enforcement expansion is not limited to the MTA. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the Sheriff's Department have also ramped up their efforts, increasing citations by 36% and 92%, respectively. This coordinated approach reflects a broader strategy to embrace new enforcement technologies and patrol strategies, extending beyond the downtown core into residential neighborhoods.

Interestingly, the 'Gone On Arrival' (GOA) category saw a 27.9% increase, suggesting that violators often leave before officers arrive. This could indicate more active public reporting or shifts in enforcement timing. Meanwhile, the 'Citation Issued' and 'Notice of Violation' categories also saw significant increases, highlighting a comprehensive enforcement effort.

Note: this metric tracks 911-coded enforcement activity (call type 587), not automated camera mailings. Separately and during the same month, SFMTA began issuing automated speed-camera citations on August 5 after a 60‑day warning period, according to the agency’s rollout updates (sfmta.com) and local coverage (abc7news.com). See “New speed camera data offers first detailed look” (sfmta.com) and “SFMTA begins citing drivers for speeding” (abc7news.com). Citation data has not yet arrived in the Data SF datasets, but the warning data is unmistakable, with 130,00+ warnings issues in just a few months. Here are the locations of the warnings:

As San Francisco continues to navigate this new enforcement landscape, the data suggests a sustained intensification of traffic enforcement. If current trends persist, the city is on track to issue approximately 105,000 traffic citations by the end of 2025, marking the highest annual total in recent history. This proactive approach, supported by data-driven deployments and public education, aims to enhance street safety and deter dangerous driving behaviors.

📞 Sidewalk Parking Complaints Explode as Residents Take to the Web

Mayor Daniel Lurie declared the era of dumb rules, just in time for an explosion of parking complaints in SF. San Francisco's 311 system recorded a dramatic spike in sidewalk parking complaints last month, with reports soaring 84.4% from 2,904 in July to 4,137 in August. This surge appears driven by coordinated reporting campaigns rather than a sudden citywide parking crisis.

The increase wasn't evenly distributed across the city. Bayview Hunters Point led the charge with a staggering 148% jump in reports, climbing from 264 in July to 656 in August. Other neighborhoods seeing significant increases included Excelsior (from 228 to 459) and Sunset/Parkside (from 117 to 260). District 10 as a whole more than doubled its reports from 373 to 757 cases.

The data reveals a striking shift in how residents reported these violations. Web-based reporting more than doubled from 970 reports in July to 2,020 in August, while mobile app reporting increased by just 16%. August 23rd stood out with 383 reports in a single day—more than triple the daily average—suggesting a coordinated reporting effort. This date coincides with the SFMTA's color curb public hearings held on August 22nd (sfmta.com), which addressed parking and loading zone changes citywide.

The surge comes amid increased enforcement of parking restrictions aimed at enhancing sidewalk safety, particularly targeting vehicles partially parked over sidewalks. This crackdown has sparked community tensions, with some residents feeling the rules are too strict while others demand better sidewalk access (sfchronicle.com). "There's a growing suspicion among neighbors about who's reporting whom," noted one Dolores Heights resident in a community forum post.

🚫 Business Closures Plummet: A Sign of Economic Stabilization

San Francisco's business landscape is showing signs of stabilization, as evidenced by a significant 45.7% drop in business closures from July to August 2025. This decline, from 381 closures in July to just 207 in August, marks a continuation of a downward trend that began earlier in the summer. The reduction in closures is not merely a statistical anomaly but part of a broader pattern of economic recovery in the city.

A key factor contributing to this decline is the absence of administrative closures in August. In June, the Treasurer & Tax Collector's Office conducted its annual cleanup of dormant business accounts, resulting in 1,767 administrative closures. By contrast, the closures in July and August were organic, reflecting genuine business activity rather than administrative actions. This pattern aligns with the Tax Collector's documented practice of periodically purging inactive accounts.

The decrease in closures spans multiple industries, with Food Services dropping from 53 closures in July to 17 in August, a 68% decrease. Retail Trade saw a 65% decrease, and Professional Services, typically the largest category of business activity in San Francisco, experienced a 43% decline. This broad-based reduction suggests an improvement in business retention across the city, with all eleven supervisorial districts experiencing fewer closures in August compared to July.

The August figure of 207 closures is 78% below the 24-month average of 943 closures per month, continuing a downward trend in business closures that began earlier in 2025. Year-to-date closures are 28% below the same period in 2024. This improvement is part of a broader economic stabilization in San Francisco, with commercial corridors like Central Market and Chinatown showing significant reductions in monthly closures compared to their two-year averages.

While some business categories, particularly small restaurants, continue to face challenges, the overall trajectory is positive. The substantial decrease in closures across most business types and neighborhoods suggests San Francisco may be entering a period of business stability after years of volatility. If this trend continues, 2025 could mark the first year since the pandemic with business closures returning to pre-pandemic levels.

🏢 Business Registrations Cool: Economic Headwinds or Seasonal Shift?

San Francisco's business registrations took a notable dip in August 2025, dropping 27.1% from July's 1,159 to just 845. This decline reflects fewer new business formations and a reduction in existing businesses opening additional locations. New business registrations fell from 1,001 in July to 738 in August, a 26.3% decrease, while location expansions by existing businesses dropped from 219 to 179, marking an 18.3% decrease. This broad-based decline affected nearly all business categories and districts, suggesting a citywide economic trend rather than isolated events.

Key sectors that typically drive San Francisco's economy saw pronounced declines. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services registrations decreased by 27.4%, from 135 in July to 98 in August. Food Services experienced a 38% reduction, falling from 137 to 85. The unclassified business category, which lacks a NAICS code designation, saw the largest absolute decrease, dropping 35.6% from 205 registrations in July to 132 in August. Interestingly, the Construction sector bucked the trend, inching up from 160 to 161 registrations, demonstrating resilience amid the broader downturn.

Geographically, the decline was widespread but uneven across San Francisco's districts. District 3 (North Beach/Chinatown) experienced the largest absolute decrease, plummeting 38.2% from 165 registrations in July to 102 in August. District 9 (Mission) saw a 29.4% decrease, while District 6 (South of Market/Tenderloin) declined by 26.4%. District 8 (Castro/Noe Valley) and District 11 (Excelsior/Outer Mission) saw smaller decreases, suggesting that areas with traditionally high business formation rates experienced the most significant slowdowns.

This decline deviates from San Francisco's typical seasonal patterns. While summer months often show some fluctuation, the 27.1% month-over-month decrease is substantially larger than historical norms. From March through July, monthly registrations averaged around 1,178, but August's drop to 845 suggests a potential inflection point rather than a gradual decline. Year-to-date business registrations stood at 9,227 by August, 16% below the same period in 2024. The food service sector has been particularly hard hit, with restaurant registrations down significantly across all size categories compared to 2024.

The August decline may reflect broader economic uncertainties affecting business confidence. The sharp drop in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services registrations is particularly noteworthy, as this sector has historically been a leading indicator of San Francisco's economic health. Combined with the decrease in Food Services registrations, these figures suggest a potential cooling in both the knowledge economy and consumer-facing businesses. If this trend continues, it could signal a more significant economic slowdown requiring targeted policy interventions to stimulate business formation and expansion.

🏢 Summary

Traffic citations rose as speed cameras and tougher enforcement took hold, and sidewalk parking reports jumped as residents filed more complaints online.Business retention looks strong, new business formation has cooled, and traffic behavior is a problem. Business closures fell, showing real stabilization across neighborhoods, but business openings slipped, leaving a thinner pipeline of new firms.

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Generated on September 10, 2025, by TransparentSF