IH02-SiuPanLam

From IEOR 170 Spring 2007

[edit] EZ Parking System

Problem Description

The city of Berkeley is home to thousands of residents coming from different walks of life and backgrounds. Whether you are a UC Berkeley student or a restaurant owner at Asian Ghetto, you will be amazed by the cultural diversity found in Berkeley. This cultural diversity can be depicted by the various cultural cuisines found in the restaurants at Berkeley – Japanese, Mexican, Chinese, American, Indian, etc. These restaurants have attracted many local residents and neighborhood city residents to dine at Berkeley. However, in a highly populated city like Berkeley where many own a car for school or work, finding a parking space on the streets is definitely not an easy task, especially during dinner hours. In fact, if one wants to dine at Berkeley, it is very common that he or she will end up parking three blocks or more away from the restaurant, after cruising for an empty, large enough, and legal parking space for 15 minutes or more, simply because almost all of the parking spaces are occupied and there is no way to tell whether there are spaces available on a certain block. The same situation applies to those drivers who look for parking spaces during a special event hosted at UC Berkeley, such as a home game or a graduation ceremony. My proposed project aims to alleviate these parking problems mainly by informing the drivers where to park so that the whole process is more effortless and less time-consuming.

Problem Context and Forces

The main goal of my proposed project is to alleviate the parking problems in Berkeley, especially during dinner hours or special events when parking spaces are in high demand. There are three main ways to alleviate this problem – 1) build more parking spaces; 2) encourage the use of public transportations; 3) direct drivers to available parking spaces. The first method has a direct effect on the limited parking spaces, but is likely to be the most costly and time-consuming before it can make a noticeable impact. The second method has already been suggested by local authorities for special events, but the influence is likely to be minimal as parking is still a problem in the city during those occasions. The third method is the focus of my proposed project – to create a better parking system by constructing digital street signs that inform drivers of parking space availability and by using an automated payment machine similar to the ones being used on some streets in Berkeley.

Target User Group

My target user group is all drivers in Berkeley, whether they are Berkeley residents or visitors to Berkeley for a dinner or a special event. Although local residents might have their own parking space in their garage, it is still very common for them to drive out for dinner since the restaurants are well spread-out all over the city and walking or public transportation might not be most time-efficient. Finding available parking on the streets is even more impending for visitors to Berkeley. For example, if you drive to Berkeley for a job interview, you do not want to be late simply because you spend too much time looking for a parking space on the streets. Same applies to visitors who are here to watch a football game. You do not want to miss out the first half of the game simply because you cannot find a parking space nearby and you end up parking ten blocks away from the stadium (perhaps on a restricted time parking zone).

Solution Sketch

My proposed solution involves constructing a digital parking sign above the traffic light (see Figure 1) and modifying the parking meter. The digital parking sign will indicate whether parking spaces are available on the block and if so, how many parking spaces are available. I have decided to use two bear paws in the design for the digital parking sign, since this is Bear territory. Specifically, when the two bear paws light up in blue color, it means that there are empty parking spaces on the block. The number in between the two bear paws indicates the number of empty parking spaces on the block. If the bear paws do not light up, it means that the parking spaces on the block are all occupied, and it is time to move on to the next block.

Figure 1. Digital parking sign to be placed on top of the traffic light.

Figure 2. ParkEZ station.

Conventional parking meters are inconvenient in the user’s viewpoint because there is a limit to how many coins you can insert, hence a limit on how long you can park your car before you need to come back and refill the meter again. Moreover, not all of us like to carry a bag of coins around for parking. Therefore, I suggest using an automated payment machine that will replace the parking meters and can accept credit cards, dollar bills, and coins as payment. I have named this machine EZ Parking because it is similar to that currently being used on some streets in Berkeley (see Figure 2). The user will need to have an EZ card, which serves like a credit card except that it is used exclusively for parking purposes at Berkeley. The balance in the EZ card can be refilled either online or at any EZ Parking machine at the user’s convenience. The steps for using the entire parking system (digital parking sign and EZ Parking machine) are summarized as followed (see Figures 3 and 4):

1. Look for a digital parking sign with two blue paws lighted.

2. Park your car (remember to lock your car!).

3. Head over to the EZ Parking machine on the block.

4. Got EZ card? If yes, then insert it into the EZ card slot. If no, then push the button for an EZ card and insert it into the EZ card slot. The EZ card can be reused, so save it!

5. Enter the desired parking time duration.

6. Pay the parking fees (you have the option of paying with a credit card or cash, or if there are available balances in your account, you can choose to deduct the parking fees from the account).

7. Get your receipt and place it on your dashboard to show the police that you have paid the parking fees.

8. Done parking! Now you can head over to your restaurant for dinner or to the game that you have been waiting to see!

Figure 3. Sketch for steps 1-3.

Figure 4. Sketch for steps 4-8.