Have you seen the people in grey sweatshirts that say "Let's Make Parking Easier" giving out flyers on Seventh Avenue? I got a dirty one that was left on the street. It said.
Park Slope is considered the worst neighborhood for parking in NYC. It takes an average of 27 minutes to find street parking. Approx. 67% of traffic is caused by drivers looking for a spot.
Parkingaroundme.com claims that they can make parking easier with a community-driven approach to finding street parking quickly.
I checked out the web site and it seems to be a free service that enables drivers tell each
other about available street parking through text messaging or Twitter.
They're starting in Park Slope Brooklyn (focused on the area around New
York Methodist Hospital) and plan to cover the rest of NYC very soon.
You probably have a lot of questions. So do I. Here's their FAQ:
- Why would I want to participate in this?
- How do I get/give parking spots?
- Do I have to give spots to get spots?
- What if I need a spot but Roadify tells me there aren't any available?
- What if the spot I claimed on Roadify isn't available when I get there?
- What if I spend a point for a spot but don’t get it?
- Isn’t txting, Twittering and the like dangerous to do when you’re driving?
- I get road, flight and mass transit info through other sources. How is Roadify different?
- Why does Roadify want my car's make and model?
- Why is Roadify good for our community, the environment and the like?
- How do you make money on this?
- When are you expanding beyond the New York Methodist Hospital area?
- When will Roadify include more than just parking information?
- How does Roadify protect my privacy?
- What if I have a question you’re not answering?
I
Can’t wait to read the police blotter when some guy wielding a tire iron “claims” a space! God, how unreal. More Gawker fodder.
Never heard of ParkingAroundMe.com but check out the real-time parking sensor technology they are experimenting with in San Francisco:
http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/01/12/in-magnetometers-we-trust
I can’t say I love the idea of people Twittering-While-Driving.
Slopers exaggerate so. I used to live in Brooklyn Heights–much worse for parking. Many of the traffic signs tell you when you CAN park. Briefly, of course.
And the matter of strollers. Drop in on the Orthrodox district of Williamsburg and you’ll trip over strollers everywhere. The 12-kid family is common. Don’t drive there–the roads are impassable because of yellow school buses, either moving or waiting. Oy.