San Francisco is on the verge of implementing an innovative experimental market-based parking pricing program. The program, SFpark, has been in development by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for over four years and is set to launch in eight pilot areas on April 21, as reported by San Francisco Chronicle.
Through SFpark, SFMTA seeks to reduce urban congestion by using a market-based parking pricing system to ensure at least one parking spot is available on each street (in participating pilot areas) at all times. The agency estimates that driver circling (driving in circles waiting for available parking space) causes one third of San Francisco’s urban congestion. For a quick summary of the program, see the following promotional video:
SFpark Overview from SFpark on Vimeo.
For the full story, see my latest Reason.org Commentary available here.