Congestion Pricing is dead, at least for a while. Maybe we can implement Variable Parking Rates, as this story about San Francisco shows that they are taking the whole t traffic control issue more seriously on the Left Coast. From sfgate.com, this describes the methodology of changing both rates and times allowed to park depending on traffic and congestion.
...city officials hope to change [the parking conundrum] with the pending start of SFpark, a pilot project intended to dramatically change the way people park in San Francisco's commercial districts by linking technology and customer demand to better manage parking at street meters and in city-owned lots.
The demonstration project will cover 6,425 curbside spaces regulated by parking meters - about 25 percent of the city's total stock - and the 11,677 spaces in lots and garages managed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. City officials hope to start the test program in September and operate it for at least a year. The agency's governing board is expected to give the go-ahead at its meeting Tuesday.
The federal government will pick up the majority of the tab - $18 million of the $23 million budgeted - as one of a handful of demonstration projects around the country to combat congestion. Officials hope that if they micromanage the parking supply, motorists will be less likely to drive around (and around and around) in search of a legal space. If successful, backers say, SFpark will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help unclog the streets.
Officials also want to see whether they can generate more revenue from the city's parking assets through smarter regulations and pricing policies. The program does nothing to expand the parking supply. San Francisco's long-entrenched policy calls for reducing reliance on the private automobile.
As SFpark is envisioned, parking rates would be adjusted based on time of day, day of week and duration of stay. People would be able to pay not just with coins, but with credit cards, prepaid debit cards and even by cell phone. If a meter is set to expire, a text message could be sent to the driver. More time could be purchased remotely.
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