SFpark

SFpark is San Francisco's system for managing the availability of on-street parking. Taking effect in April, 2011, the program utilizes smart parking meters that change their prices according to location, time of day, and day of the week, with the goal of keeping about 15% of spaces vacant on any given block.[1] The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency launched the system with congestion mitigation funding from the Federal Highway Administration in July 2010[2] as a fallback from a downtown cordon.[3] It is the first system of its kind in the world.

The system seeks to reduce the time and fuel wasted by drivers searching for an open space.[4] Parking usage is monitored via sensors placed in the asphalt,[1] and the availability and prices can be checked via SFpark.org, iPhone and Android apps, and cell phone.[4][5] Prices can range from a minimum of 25¢ to a maximum of $6 per hour during normal hours, with a $18 per hour cap for special events such as baseball games or street fairs.[6] As of April 2013, prices range from 25¢ to $6.00 per hour during normal hours.[7] In addition to the on-street parking, fourteen city-owned garages are included in the program.[8]

This concept of market-based variable pricing or "performance parking" has long been advocated by transportation researcher Donald Shoup, now an adviser on the project.[4]

Results

By December 2012, average hourly parking rates had dropped by 14 cents from $2.73 to $2.59, SFMTA's revenue from parking citations dropped from 45% to 20% of total parking revenue, and 6% of the new meters charged 25¢ an hour.[9]

A March 2014 study found that SFPark met its 60-80% occupancy goal and that cruising for parking is down by 50%.[10]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 High-tech parking meters premiere in S.F
  2. ↑ Press Release: FHWA Deputy Administrator Helps Launch SFpark in San Francisco, 4/21/2011
  3. ↑ San Francisco congestion pricing
  4. 1 2 3 Matt Richtel. NY Times. Now, to Find a Parking Spot, Drivers Look on Their Phones. May 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ SFpark: The phone app that tells you where the parking spaces are | Mail Online
  6. ↑ Pricing – SFpark
  7. ↑ Data – Resource Types – SFpark
  8. ↑ SF Launches Another Parking App That Appears To Require Cell Phone Use (Or A Navigator) While Driving: News: SFAppeal
  9. ↑ SFpark hourly meters actually saves motorists money | Transportation | San Francisco | San Francisco Examiner
  10. ↑ Millard-Ball; Weinberger; Hampshire (March 2014). "Is the Curb 80% Full or 20% Empty? Assessing the Impacts of San Francisco's Parking Pricing Experiment" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-04-07.
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