Culture

How Seattle Transformed Parking Without Spending a Fortune

The city's demand pricing program balances efficiency with affordability.
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The most sophisticated street-parking system in the United States, and perhaps the world, is in San Francisco. SFpark uses demand-responsive pricing to adjust the rates of city street meters and garages in eight major neighborhoods, ensuring that spots are always available. The program uses a matrix of street sensors to inform drivers using the SFpark app of space vacancy and prices in real time.

Of course, not every city can get a $20 million federal grant to implement such a system, as San Francisco did. Those places seeking a more affordable model might want to look a bit north to Seattle, where the city has established SeaPark. While less technologically advanced than SFpark, the SeaPark program still responds to parking demand across the city with notable efficiency — and for a fraction of the cost.