Mapping the Law of the Land: Curbside Access

More uses and modes than ever are fighting for curb space in growing cities. Here's an app to make sense of what you can do, and when, along this valued real estate.

1 minute read

March 21, 2018, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


San Francisco Street

Reinhard Tiburzy / Shutterstock

Andrew J. Hawkins shares news of a new tool released by Sidewalk Labs recently that makes visual sense of the way cities allow access to curb space lining busy streets.

According to Hawkins, "with the explosion of new mobility options like ride-hailing, car-sharing, and bike-sharing, and the looming specter of self-driving vehicles on the horizon, cities are starting to rethink how they allocate curb space." 

Sidewalk Labs response to these changing dynamics is called Coord, a new company "focused on helping cities and mobility companies better manage traffic congestion and parking problems on their streets through a cloud-based platform."

"After digitizing the city’s curbs, including parking meters, parking signs, and curb stripes, Coord condensed all that data into a map that’s searchable by date, time, vehicle type, and desired action," adds Hawkins.

Coord released a map of San Francisco's curbsides to demonstrate the power of the idea. Hawkins outlines some use cases and previews the new mapping tool at the source article.

Monday, March 19, 2018 in The Verge

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.