Cool New Tool: SFpark Takes the Mystery Out of Parking

Circling city streets in search of an open parking space is not only maddening, its also bad for your carbon footprint. Enter SFpark, a pilot parking management program that tracks space availability and pricing information for 14 public garages in San Francisco. Initially accessible via an interactive web map and an iPhone app, the real-time parking info is now available via a texting service for drivers who prefer that mode or who dont have a smart phone or easy Internet access.

At the same time as tracking the availability of spaces, SFpark is phasing in demand-responsive pricing in city garages, varying rates by time of day and demand.

"We are working to combine technologies to not only improve parking, but to improve how we communicate with our customers," said Edward D. Reiskin, director of transportation for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), about the advent of the texting service in mid-September. "These programs will not only provide enhanced convenience and less congestion and pollution associated with ones search for parking, but also allows us to optimize the use of our parking facilities."

In addition to installing sensors in the city garages, SFpark has equipped 8,200 parking spaces across eight neighborhoods with sensors that can detect availability space by space in real time and with smart meters whose rates can be adjusted periodically to manage demand.

SFMTA is spearheading the parking program with the help of an Urban Partnership Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). In a parallel effort, MTC also received grant funding from the DOT to expand the parking features of the 511 web- and phone-based traveler information system and to incorporate SFpark data into the 511 system (see yellow box).

To get started with the SFpark texting service, customers can text SFpark to 877-877, which will generate a reply text with a code for the garage in question. Detailed instructions are at SFpark.org/garages.