Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

I tell you, there is nothing I hate more than driving in the big city.  Assuming you can get through the traffic, none of the usual rules seem to apply.  Don’t even get me started on trying to find a parking space. 

Especially in San Francisco, a city full of hills so steep that they’re practically cliffs.  Fortunately, the Bay City is doing something about their parking problem by implementing “smart spots”.  These are spots that are fitted with sensors that can be detected through a city-wide Wi-Fi network. 

All a user has to do is look on their Wi-Fi enabled smartphone or find a dynamic street sign display, and he or she is on their way to a parking place.  That is, unless someone else takes the space first. 

San Francisco is planning on spending 23 million on this program that will turn 6,000 ordinary spaces into these smart spots. 

Not only will these smart spots be detectable via Wi-Fi, but they will accept payments via cellular phone too.  No more having to run back to the feed the meter.  This program in San Francisco is not the first parking meter program to accept payments via cell phone, as Niagara Falls and Vancouver have adopted similar programs in 2007. 

Hopefully, there will be smart spots like this implemented in every major metropolitan area. 

Via [Gizmodo]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →