Dude Where's My Spot

San Fran's Innovative New iPhone App

Helps city dwellers find parking spaces.

Finding a parking spot for many urban dwellers is often a headache-inducing game. But San Francisco seems to have a pricey new plan: an iPhone application called "SFPark" detects sensors in 7,000 metered parking spots and 12,250 garage spaces throughout the city. Sensors communicate wirelessly, alerting app users within one minute of a space opening up. The application's map indicates open spaces in blue and full spaces in red. IPhone parking space apps have been around for a while now, but San Francisco's "SFPark" has become a $20 million project backed by the Transportation Department and the Federal Highway Administration. Either the city is desperate to free up traffic congestion, or it is simply more progressive than other cities (Los Angeles and New York have tried similar projects, but neither has taken root). More than 12,000 people have downloaded San Francisco's iPhone app, which officials are hoping to make available to other smart phones.