The Right Price for Parking, San Francisco’s SFpark Smart Meters

“Moving Beyond the Automobile: The Right Price for Parking” by Streetfilms describes San Francisco’s new SFpark pilot program, an attempt to relieve parking congestion by varying meter and garage prices based on demand. The program’s new smart meters also make it possible to find open spaces using the SFpark iPhone App.

You might be shocked at how much traffic consists of drivers who have already arrived at their destination but find themselves cruising the streets, searching for an open parking spot. In some city neighborhoods, cruising makes up as much as 40 percent of all traffic. All this unnecessary traffic slows down buses, endangers cyclists and pedestrians, delays other motorists, and produces harmful emissions. The key to eliminating it is to get the price of parking right.

Moving Beyond the Automobile is a 10 part series by Streetfilms on reducing automobile dependency.