Find a Parking Space, and Pay For it, Over the Phone
San Francisco is installing sensors in 6,000 of its 24,000 parking spaces in order to test a new system that will give motorists a chance to check for available parking spaces from their PC or phone.
Better yet, instead of hoofing it down to feed the meter, San Francisco intends set up a mobile payment system so drivers will be able to pay from wherever they happen to be at the moment.
A study of traffic patterns in major cities shows that a heavy percentage of cars on the road at any particular time are in the process of looking for a place to park. In San Francisco, it’s estimated to be 30% of the total traffic. With the smart parking system, users will be able to find and perhaps even reserve a space and go straight to it without circling blocks over and over hoping to get lucky.
In addition to access by PCs and phones, plans are in place to install signs at street corners that advise drivers if there are any spaces available on that particular street. Instead of wasting a trip down a space-less street, a driver will just roll on by until he or she spots a sign that shows an opening.
San Francisco uber-mayor Gavin Newsom puts it well: “There isn’t a person who hasn’t experienced the travails of going around the block multiple times searching for a parking space, using gas and wasting time and generating greenhouse gases,” he said. “It will scale in people’s consciousness to the point that the public will demand more.”
Story and quote via John Markoff of the New York Times
Technorati Tags: san francisco, gavin newsom, smart parking
