Overview
Parking in Sydney is, well, a bit of a nightmare. There are some 10,483 council parking spaces available to share between a population of over 4 million. The average price for the privilege of plonking your vehicle in the CBD for two-hours is up around the $40 mark. That's if you even manage to find a spot. It's double that for a parking infringement, unless of course you avoid getting caught thanks to geo-location app Park Patrol. Other cities resort to stacking cars vertically, while privately-owned spaces can be crowd-sourced on sites like YourParkingSpace.
Perhaps we should take a leaf from San Francisco's book. Recently launched SFPark is a website and mobile app which uses sensors, new meters, and real-time parking data to improve parking in eight test neighbourhoods in the inner city. Around 7,000 of San Fran's 28,800 metered spaces and 12,250 public garage spaces are covered in the program.
Accessing real-time information about the availability of parking, drivers can quickly zip into open spaces. Parking meter pricing gets adjusted according to supply and demand, which helps balance availability of popular spaces while subtly encouraging commuters to opt for more sustainable travel options, like a bike or a bus.
[Via Fast Company]