On Tuesday, San Francisco's MUNI approved a pilot program to price 6,000 of the city's parking spots according to popularity.
"(W)hile the worst locales will go cheaply - as little as a quarter - a handful of premium parking spots will be worth $18 an hour, or nearly a pound of quarters.
Other cities have dabbled in such pricing, but Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., executive director of the transportation agency, said San Francisco's plan - due to start in the spring with the aid of new meters, sensors and $18.4 million in federal financing - would place the city at the forefront of parking technology. Mr. Ford cited the various benefits it would reap, including reducing congestion and carbon emissions from circling cars and ensuring pedestrians are not sideswiped by parking-obsessed drivers.
'It's an exciting time,' said Mr. Ford, who also pointed to advances in payment technology, including the ability to buy parking time with a cellphone."
FULL STORY: A Costly City Tries Pricing Its Parking by Popularity
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association