Smart Parking, Stronger Business Districts

How Parknav is Working for San Jose

Transform developed the SPOT SJ initiative to improve the use of existing parking and reduce the need for additional parking in San Jose. The initiative includes a pilot of Parknav as a tool to better understand and use existing on-street parking. It combines real-time data, predictive modeling, and a user-friendly app to help drivers find available parking while giving cities and business districts insight into how curb space is actually used.

What is Parknav?

Parknav operates on two levels: a data dashboard for planners and a navigation app for drivers.

Parknav processes real-time and historical data from car sensors, cell phone towers, car-sharing companies, mapping providers, satellite imagery, traffic patterns, insurance companies, and other proprietary sources.

The dashboard portal provides block-by-block data on parking availability, including the probability of finding a space at different times of day and on different days of the week. This helps answer key questions:

• When is parking actually full and when is it underused?
• Where are the highest-demand blocks?
• How does availability change over time?

This kind of data is critical for city planners. It grounds their decisions about curb management and street space allocation in real conditions instead of assumptions, helping them to avoid overbuilding parking or missing opportunities to repurpose curb space.

A tool businesses can use right now

The Parknav app guides drivers directly to blocks where parking is likely available. Instead of circling the block, customers can go straight to a spot near their destination.

For businesses, this opens up simple, low-cost ways to improve access:

• Add “Find parking with Parknav” to their website or social media
• Include parking guidance in event promotions
• Share links or screenshots showing nearby parking availability

This shifts the narrative from “parking is impossible” to “here’s exactly where to go.”

Supporting better planning in San Jose

​​As San Jose plans for growth, tools like Parknav can play an important role in shaping smarter, more balanced streets.

Along corridors like Santa Clara Street and neighborhoods like Five Wounds, the question is not just how much parking to provide, but how to balance space for housing, transit, small businesses, and community life.

Parknav data has helped:

• Show where parking demand is truly high versus perceived to be high
• Identify opportunities to convert underused space into parklets, bike lanes, or loading zones
• Support more flexible, dynamic curb management strategies

Just as importantly, the app can help shift conversations with business owners and customers. Instead of debating whether there is “enough” parking, we can look together at how existing parking is performing and where improvements can be made.

A new way to talk about parking

Parking remains a key consideration for all cities, but it does not need to constrain better outcomes made possible through accessible data and civic engagement. With more information and tools, San Jose can:

• Make it easier for customers to reach local businesses
• Use existing parking more efficiently
• Unlock space for the things that make neighborhoods vibrant

Parknav is one piece of that shift. And through SPOT SJ, we are continuing to explore how data and real-world tools can support both businesses and community-driven planning.