The GIVE map- all the spots that have been entered in lately

Does this scenario sound familiar?
You are driving one/two kids back from the grocery store/school/daycare and you can’t find a parking spot near your apartment.  You loop…and loop……and loop. Then the whining/crying starts.  The frozen waffles are starting to thaw and so are your nerves.

You:
A. Double park and leave the car there with hazards blinking for a couple of hours
B. Put the kids in their cribs and run out to repark the car (hoping there is a spot available now)
C. Haul everyone and the groceries 5 blocks from the parking space you did manage to find.

If you have a car in Brooklyn and have a family, you have probably done A, B or C or all three of them at some time.

It seems that some Park Slope inventors with a company called Roadify might have found a solution.  They have created a FREE service to share parking information (and real-time bus transit info).  “ParkingAroundMe” is text messaged based and can also be used via Twitter. It officially launched in November and already has over 500 users. The way it works is when a commuter is leaving a parking spot they text GIVE and the location they are leaving from to 95495. The spots are listed like “7 ave btwn 5/6 st” and also include the car model/color that is leaving soon or that the available spot is close to.  This is then entered into an online database. People circling the block, looking for a spot, text GET and receive a list of these available spots. This can also be done by following the developer Roadify on Twitter under @roadify.

Just think a whole community of GIVErs and GETters in Brooklyn, helping each other to find parking spots. Sure is heart-warming!

To sign up:
First time users text “PAM” (ParkingAroundMe) to 95-4-95 and can then receive text messages from Roadify. People with smart phones can also direct message them with a Twitter app (@roadify).

Roadify- I don't even know if some of them look old enough for driving licenses!

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