By Joe Baur
San Francisco-based Streetline is set to bring their Parker smartphone technology to Downtown Cleveland in an effort to tackle one of city’s most unsettling problems.
Finding parking.
But we’re not talking about just any parking. Cleveland has plenty of half-empty parking garages that stand out like withering warehouses. We’re talking about the kind where you get the convenience and affordability of a bus or train drop-off without having to be with city people.
The idea, a good one at heart, is to make parking more efficient and save energy by directing drivers to available parking using a smartphone app linked to sensors located in about 100 parking meters between East 4th and East 9th on Prospect Avenue. This, Streetline and the City say, will reduce congestion and wasted energy from drivers circling the block to find the most convenient spot.
Reducing congestion and energy waste are both great ideas. But this is a potentially dangerous use of technology that is set to begin a 90-day trial without the input of the Downtown community.
Irresponsible Drivers
An obvious concern comes to mind. Smartphone apps generally require someone clicking, scrolling, and sometimes even typing on a screen. That means this Parker smartphone app has the potential to distract operators of a 4,000-plus pound moving vehicle in a heavily pedestrian-trafficked area. As filmmaker great Werner Herzog has taught us in his film From One Second to the Next about texting and driving, life can take a cruel turn at any moment when a driver is distracted.
I found the timing of this personally ironic. Last week I wrote about how many Downtown residents feel threatened by aggressive drivers who speed and refuse to obey pedestrian right of way. The last thing we need is to give Downtown motorists another reason to look at their phone while operating a machine that can easily turn into a weapon, even if by accident.
Scene reported that Commissioner of Parking Antoinette Thompson responded to the obvious concern, saying voice-activated navigation software will keep a driver’s hands on the wheel. Let that sink in for a moment. A city official is telling pedestrians not to worry; drivers will use the app responsibly.
Methinks we can all agree, even if based solely on personal anecdotes, that there are plenty of irresponsible drivers out on the road texting, despite its illegality in Cleveland, and talking on their phones. No amount of legislating or patrolling has seemed to curb the trend. If city officials honestly believe that nobody will use this app while behind the wheel, and it only takes one, then I have a Browns Super Bowl trophy I’d like to show them.
Fairness
None of this is to say that parking efficiency shouldn’t be addressed. (Though let’s admit it’s pretty low on the totem pole of Cleveland’s most dire issues.)
But if the city is seriously concerned about energy waste and congestion, then encourage more drivers to take public transportation. Rather than worrying about finding every car a parking spot, get them off the road altogether and on a bus or the Rapid.
For those the city can’t get off the road, there are more practical solutions that don’t ask pedestrians to sacrifice their safety for the convenience of a driver’s convenience. One suggestion offered was to adjust parking meters in real-time. Charge a higher price for metered parking during busy hours to encourage turnover, allowing new drivers to come in and park without circling to avoid higher garage fees.
Problem is, neither this suggestion nor any other had an opportunity to be considered by the city. That’s because nobody at City Hall saw fit to call a community meeting to so much as introduce and discuss the idea. And if the city wants to keep using the continuing inflow of Downtown residents as proof of the city’s renaissance to national media or the electorate, then they have to talk to us. They can’t trot us out as statistical playthings when it’s convenient for them, only to keep us out of the conversation when we want a voice at the table.
Let’s hope the city comes to its senses and ends their 90-day trial with Streetline before a pedestrian is severely injured or even killed. It would be a nice gesture to the growing Downtown community to admit they made a mistake, meet with the community, and find a solution that doesn’t ask one group of people to sacrifice even a modicum of their safety for the convenience motorists looking for cheap parking. Especially in a region that has already been over-developed for the convenience of drivers.
It’s only fair.
Joe Baur is a freelance writer, filmmaker and satirist with a diverse array of interests including travel, adventure, craft beer, health, urban issues, culture and politics. He ranks his allegiances in the order of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the Rust Belt, and enjoys a fried egg on a variety of meats. Joe has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a focus on production from Miami University. Follow him at http://JoeBaur.com and on Twitter @BaurJoe.