Green Daily

How many times have you driven a short distance in the city - say, to a local ice cream shop - only to circle the neighborhood again and again, looking for a parking spot. You quickly realize that you could have easily walked there in the time it took you to find a spot (not to mention, saved a ton of gasoline). In fact, a recent study by the New York Transportation Authority discovered that 28 percent to 45 percent of traffic on many streets in New York City is generated by people circling the blocks, looking for parking spots.

But if a new San Francisco program is successful, this scenario will be a thing of the past. City officials plan to test a wireless sensor network, called "SFpark," that will send information about empty parking spaces to drivers' cell phones, or be displayed on street signs. 6,000 (out of the city's 24,000) metered parking spaces will be used for the trial, and 4x4-inch, battery-operated plastic sensors will be embedded in city streets to track spots as they become available.

SF Mayor Gavin Newsom claims the program is a way to manage congestion and calm traffic patterns, instead of using restrictive tolls, like in London and Singapore (New York has proposed a similar plan).

Overall, the program has several benefits: parking time limits and fees can be adjusted based on the time and day, and the city can monitor the percentage of spots occupied at any given time (for instance, SF might set a goal that only 85% of spots should be occupied).