Make Parking Easier??

LongTimeSloper wrote: [quote=eggcream][quote=snarkslope]Are you kidding? This idea is ridiculous, as there are often at least one or two double-parked cars on any given sidestreet waiting for someone to move so they can park. If I had been waiting for a spot for a half hour (often the case) and someone attempted to swoop in ahead of me because they thought they were next in line, according to their iphone, i'd resort to violence.

I agree snarkslope and I had the same thought when I was handed one of these flyers over the weekend. For those who don't get it, from the site:

"GIVE AWAY A PARKING SPOT

1. Text "give" to 95495.
2. Roadify will prompt you to supply your approximate location (street and cross streets) and estimated time when the spot will be available.
3. Reply with the appropriate info. Abbreviations are OK.

You may also enter all info in a single text message.
Example: give at 5th St btw 6th and 7th Ave in 10 min

Now let's say someone has been outside on 5th st btw 6th and 7th ave waiting for a spot for 30 minutes. You get in your car and said person pulls up only to be told someone is coming for the spot and you can't have it. Good luck not getting the sh*t kicked out of you.


do you people not read? How many times has this been psoted in this thread?

For the billionth time, no one is saying to do that! that is NOT the point of doing this! You are not supposed to sit around waiting for someone else from the text messages to come get your spot, for crying out loud! You put it into the system and then go! It's a hit or miss option but just a little advantage. No one is guaranteeing the spot will be there when you get there nor are people supposed to hold spots, how many times has this been said?

Why would I tweet about a spot I was going to give away to a stranger?
I could just get in my car and it would quickly be taken by a stranger.

...this system gives me the ability to have it taken by someone who will pay me for the spot, and avoid others.

Payment could equal points, $, etc. It really doesn't matter.

Don't you read?

Now on to a new topic.
Jamzer, how much would you pay for a spot (aka "timely tweet about a spot")?
DR?
Eggcream?
Snark?

LTS, how much would you pay a month to receive tweets like the one I mentioned?

You'd waive to me in my red jacket, I'd then move my car and type in your license plate number.

This would result in me gaining one point/credit, and you losing a credit. For each 30 day period, you can trade and lose credits to your heart's desire.

However, if you have a negative balance at the end of 30 days, you owe
$10 to the website; this would encourage you to always tweet before you move your car.

Who said anything about it being illegal?

...it will just provide those with $ and savy a quicker way to park. I'm all for it.

ringrunner wrote: This is stupid. The drivers in Park Slope are bad enough. Now they are gonna be staring at their iPhone while looking for a spot, or texting just after they pulled out of a spot.

Absolutely. ...and I, as a non-car owner who lives in Prospect Heights, will laugh heartily.

(shhh, don't ruin it)

Here are ways I can benefit:
A. Laughing from Prospect Heights as a non-car owner.

B. Buy a car and rent a monthly spot in PH for $220. In this scenario, during the evening I drive it to PS, then park in good spots. Then I tweet. Then I get paid. Then I drive around until I find another spot and repeat. If I get bored, or make enough for a beer, I take my car back to its monthly spot. My goal is to make make $400 a month, enough for the monthly spot plus some beer and gas. (I think its do-able). I'll try it out with a Zip Car first......

LongTimeSloper wrote: Aha, yeah, great ideas, yeah, go do it, make money, you will be rich, yeah, aha

Sadly, I'll likely continue to choose option A.

...but scheming is good for me.

My sincerest apologies to actual retards....

pmonk wrote: Been parking in Park Slope for 5 years now and never, ever had a problem so not to sure what the "no-Park Slope" tag means?

:shock:

Hmm, they also talk about some people getting paid, very cool!

Okay, I am still stuck on the unfairness of this program. So my elderly in-laws are visiting from New Jersey. My father-in-law's been sitting in their car for 20 minutes waiting for a spot. Someone receives a text saying a blue Volvo is leaving on that block in 10 minutes, and that person drives to the block and locates the blue Volvo and waits and ultimately gets the spot. My father-in-law has now been waiting for 1/2 hour and misses the space that should have been his. This seems wrong on so many levels!

snarkslope wrote: Okay, I am still stuck on the unfairness of this program. So my elderly in-laws are visiting from New Jersey. My father-in-law's been sitting in their car for 20 minutes waiting for a spot. Someone receives a text saying a blue Volvo is leaving on that block in 10 minutes, and that person drives to the block and locates the blue Volvo and waits and ultimately gets the spot. My father-in-law has now been waiting for 1/2 hour and misses the space that should have been his. This seems wrong on so many levels!

I had this same idea a few years ago and then came to the conclusion that it would not or could not work - for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread.

That said, it's every man (or woman) for himself out there. If someone manages to get a spot using this service I don't see anything unfair about it. There is no such thing as unfair and no such thing as "the spot that should have been his". The only time a spot is yours is if you're waiting directly next to the spot with your blinker on. If you're sitting on the block waiting for someone to move, and a car swoops in ahead of you and takes a spot up the block, you just got screwed.

whynot,

You should adapt your business model to be for seating at all the local coffeehouses.

jeffrey wrote: whynot,

You should adapt your business model to be for seating at all the local coffeehouses.

Well, those aren't public goods. I really want to make money off things that are owned by the public. Selling mineral rights in Yellowstone and/or picnic tables in Prospect Park will be my next attempt at being told I am the devil.

...Prospect park doesn't have any minerals, does it?

Booklaw!
Can you quickly patent my version? (not really)

bluecat wrote:
I'm just saying there are way too many people looking for spots at any given time. No matter what the intention of the system is, if you don't hold the spot it will be quickly taken by someone cruising the streets.


Using an organized and presumably patentable system is different than casually telling your friend of a spot. This is a beta test of a system the organizers hope to profit from one day.

Exactly. It's a ridiculous assumption to think a spot would still be there.

booklaw wrote:

I thought someone tried this a few years ago in Manhattan, and it was determined to be illegal. Basically, your selling a parking spot that belongs to the City.

You aren't really selling a parking spot; you're actually selling information about the imminent availability of parking spot.

Doesn't sound illegal to me.

this was tried a few years ago, for the life of me i cannot remember the name of the company but i'm pretty sure they were from Boston.

The legal vagaries behind "selling" the spot were definitely an obstacle.

Booklaw!
Can you quickly patent my version?

I just read that the Supreme Court is about to rule on a case that could make it way more difficult to patent business methods (as opposed to gizmos)... so you may be out of luck.