San Francisco is a leader among cities which want to reduce the number of drivers circling the block for an open space and adding to the traffic congestion found in many downtown areas. It is doing this by adjusting the rates charged by parking meters up or down (by 25-50 cents/hr) every 2 months based on actual usage of each space in order to meet an optimum usage and revenue target. Higher rates, now capped at $6/hr are being slowly phased in. The benefits are several: reduced congestion, less pollution and more revenue to improve transit and last, but not least, anyone looking for a open parking space will find one.
Key Quotes:
“San Francisco installed parking sensors and new meters at roughly a quarter of its 26,800 metered spots to track when and where cars are parked”
“aims to make sure that there is always at least one empty parking spot available on every block that has meters…raises the price of parking on the city’s most crowded blocks and lowers it on its emptiest blocks— the most expensive spots have risen to $4.50 an hour, but could reach $6”
“after the city gradually raised the price of parking to $4.50 an hour from $3.50, high-tech sensors embedded in the street showed that spots were available a little more often”
“ also has cut prices at many of the garages and parking lots it manages, to lure cars off the street”
“the program would benefit many poor people, including the many San Franciscans who do not have cars, because all parking revenues are used for mass transit and any reduction in traffic will speed the buses many people here rely on”
“using a market-based system to price key parking spots is an elegant solution to this challenge with the added benefit of reducing traffic and pollution”
Related articles
- San Francisco Lowers Parking Rates At Some Garages (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
- Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities (pollutionfreecities.blogspot.com)
- The Parking Games: San Francisco Wants the Odds to be Ever in Your Favor (uclaextensionppp.wordpress.com)
- San Francisco's Meter Program Might Actually Cut Gas Costs (businessinsider.com)
- Giants Fans Face Sticker Shock Over Meter Pricing Near Stadium (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
- Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
- Sensor Networks Could End Parking Rage (technologyreview.in)
- Sensor Networks In San Francisco Finds Parking Spots (hardware.slashdot.org)
- San Francisco saves gas by making better parking spaces cost more (grist.org)
- Sensor Networks Could End Parking Rage (technologyreview.com)
- San Francisco Considers Enforcing Parking Meters On Sunday (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
- Streetline Wants To Be Your Parking Savior (fastcoexist.com)
- Hackers: We can bypass San Francisco e-parking meters (news.cnet.com)
- San Francisco Churches Resist Sunday Parking Meter Plan (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)
- SFgate.comS.F. plan to install new parking meters on hold (sfgate.com)
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