New York testing parking spaces that find you

A company called Streetline, Inc. is working with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to deploy a sensor based Smart Parking system as part of a pilot project. The sensors are being installed along Arthur Ave. in the Bronx in cooperation with two other vendors. NYCDOT is running the installation as a feasibility test of the sensor technology to ease parking availability, cutting emissions by the amount of time normally spent finding a space.

The parking sensors are set in the pavement and know if a car is there or not. Utilizing the company’s Parker app, motorists can access parking availability information within the test neighborhood using a smartphone, netbook or tablet. The app will also keep track of how much time remains on the meter or even provide directions to get back to the car.

"We are excited to partner with New York City DOT to test this innovative service for locals and visitors to NYC," said Zia Yusuf, CEO of Streetline. "We applaud New York City for exploring and implementing Smart Parking solutions that can not only transform how people park, but also address the critical need to reduce traffic and pollution."

So now we have electric, CNG and Hydrogen cars, navigation systems, wireless recharging, autonomous automobiles, self parking autos, apps to find gas, restaurants and movie tickets, social media access to our peeps, and now phones that will find our parking space for us.

Welcome to the brave new world of 21st Century motoring. Let your phone find a space, let the car park itself and visit for a while.