SF set to become first US city to price all metered parking based on demand

Parking information is painted on the pavement on the 300 block of Townsend Street in San Francisco. Parking information is painted on the pavement on the 300 block of Townsend Street in San Francisco. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close SF set to become first US city to price all metered parking based on demand 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Surge pricing could be coming to every parking meter in San Francisco in 2018 under a plan being considered by the Municipal Transportation Agency.

Under the proposal, each of the city’s 30,200 meters would be subject to hourly rates that vary depending on demand. The charges would fluctuate block by block and by time of day. For example, a neighborhood with a lot of restaurants might see higher meter rates during evenings than during other times of the day.

MTA officials say the approach is intended to increase the availability of coveted city parking spaces, particularly in areas where demand is high. People unwilling to pay the higher rates might seek parking farther away, remain for a shorter period of time, or leave their car at home.

It means fewer people will be circling the block in search of open meters, said Hank Willson, the MTA’s parking policy manager.

“If you get into parking faster, it means you’re driving less, you’re emitting fewer pollutants, you’re less likely to just go somewhere else, and there’s less distracted driving,” he said. “And you’ll come back.”

The agency’s board of directors is scheduled to vote on the plan on Tuesday.

If it moves ahead, San Francisco would become the first U.S. city to have citywide demand-based parking rates, Willson said.

The practice is already in use at about 7,000 of the city’s metered parking spaces, as well as in all of its garages. Demand-based parking rates are the offspring of a three-year federally funded program called SFpark that ended in 2014. The experiment showed that the city could increase the availability of parking by fiddling with meter rates.

Because of its success, the MTA continued it in some of the city’s busiest neighborhoods — downtown, South of Market, the Mission, the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Mission Bay, the Fillmore and the Marina. But the proposal before the board would be the first incursion into the city’s western end, and many other largely residential neighborhoods.

Under the program, hourly rates would be reviewed, and possibly raised or lowered in 25-cent increments, every three months depending on how many metered spaces have typically been available on a given block.

Hourly meter rates would be set block by block based on demand within three daily time bands — roughly 9 a.m. to noon, noon to 3 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. or even later. MTA will use data from the meters to determine how often they turn over and how many spaces are available on a block. The target, Willson said, is to have one or two spaces per block always available.

In deciding whether to adjust hourly rates on a particular block, the MTA will look at the percentage of spaces filled during the time bands. If 80 percent or more of the spaces are filled, rates will rise by a quarter. When spaces are only 60 to 80 percent full, no rate changes will be made. And when the occupancy rate is lower than 60 percent, rates would drop by 25 cents.

Rates can go as low as 50 cents an hour or as high as $8 an hour, according to MTA policy, but the highest rate now is $7 an hour, charged near AT&T Park during Giants games and other events. The average rate at the existing 7,000 demand-based parking spaces, Willson said, is about $2.50. Since the city started experimenting with the concept, he said, many parking rates have dropped. Of course, that depends on the location and the time of day.

Not all drivers who park where meters charge flat rates said they were convinced that demand-based parking will benefit them.

“That’s awful,” said Lora Peoples, 57, a loan processor from Daly City, after she was told Wednesday of the plan as she walked through the Laurel Heights business district on California Street around noon. She said she doesn’t believe the system will make it easier to find parking.

Michael Windholz, a 70-year-old psychologist raised in San Francisco, agrees with the intent of the program but worries that it could have other effects.

“To some extent, it’s going to benefit people with money,” he said. “I’m not sure I like it.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan