Last year, we brought you the news that reserved parking spaces for car sharing programs would be coming to the Lower Haight as part of a pilot program the city is running.
Well, they’re here.
Just two spaces have been approved in the Lower Haight so far: one at Haight and Divisadero (pictured above, so obviously already implemented, though no actual Getaround car has been parked there yet) and one at Fillmore and Waller.
If you’re really into this kind of thing, you can see a map of all the reserved car share spots that have been created or approved for participating companies City CarShare, Getaround, and Zipcar on this handy map. All of the spots on the map will be up and running by the end of this month, according to Andy Thornley, a senior project analyst for the Sustainable Streets Division of the SFMTA.
As Hoodline reported last year, the city is planning on ultimately converting 900 of the 281,000 parking spaces in the city. The pilot program will consist of creating 450 spaces and evaluating their effectiveness. The initial plans called for at least seven more spots to be reserved in the Lower Haight, but that could change based on how the pilot program goes and what feedback from the community the SFMTA receives.
Thornley told Hoodline in an email last November exactly what the pilot program is designed to evaluate:
Thornley told Hoodline in an email last November exactly what the pilot program is designed to evaluate:
For each permitted pilot car share parking space, we’ll be monitoring availability (how much of the time a vehicle is available to members), unique users (how many different people are using the vehicle), how many times the vehicle is used, and VMT for each trip (how far did it go). We’ll also be monitoring enforcement problems (someone parking in the car share space and blocking the shared car when it comes back from a trip) and other operational aspects.
And we’ll be surveying each participating car share organization’s members to learn about their behavior and preferences – are they driving more/less, are they taking Muni more/less, are they planning to purchase/get rid of a personal vehicle.
We don’t have predefined thresholds for success for the pilot, rather we’ll review the data and analyze patterns and particulars and bring that data and analysis to the SFMTA’s board of directors to report on what we learn, and if the data and analysis supports it we’ll make the case for a permanent on-street car share permit program. That will be a public deliberation, with public input, before any decision is made to “operationalize” this concept.
Thornley also tells Hoodline that a second batch of spots will be reviewed, approved, and activated this spring, then the SFMTA will collect data on those locations for a year.
Has a reserved spot gone in near you? Have you seen any activity in a spot near you? Let us know how it’s going in the comments.
We’ll let you know when the city is holding the next public meeting about the project, or you can keep yourself updated via the city’s Car Sharing Policy and Pilot Project website.
