Sacramento Launches Parking App SacPark.org

The city of Sacramento, California launched a website and app called SacPark.org in October of last year which enables people to view available parking garages in the city’s downtown area and their prices, as well as reserve a space ahead of time. City officials report that 230,000 spaces have been reserved using that site and app since its launch. Besides saving time and fuel, drivers have the additional incentive to use the app as they receive a 25 percent discount on the cost of parking in city lots when reservations are made using the service.

The city partnered with Parkeon to design the SacPark app. It also features an online navigation tool that shows information on various transportation options when traveling to the downtown area – such as light rail, ride share, and bicycles.

The city plans on launching a new app later this year, which includes all the services of the current app – plus a feature that will help drivers search for street parking. Sensors installed in parking garages will also show how many spaces are available. Garages will use license plate recognition technology that will automatically open gates for motorists who have already paid for parking.

“We currently have sensors in each one of our parking meters out on the street, which is building an information bank of where parking is available and at what times,” the city’s parking manager Matt Eierman said. “So when you’re coming to our downtown, you’ll just pull up our app, you’ll put in your destination and it’ll give you a route with a probability of how much parking is available along that route.”