Yahoo Finance Final-freaking-ly, Google Maps now includes parking information
City-dwellers and suburbanites alike, we’ve got the best news for you today. You probably already rely on Google Maps to get you where you need to go, but the parking situation when you get there is always a toss up. The geniuses at Google have heard your cries, and now Google Maps is providing parking information. Hallelujah!
You’d be hard-pressed to find a smartphone user who hasn’t relied on Google Maps at one point or another for their directional needs, and the app’s new parking availability feature is about to make your life so much easier. Soon, you’ll be able to know how difficult parking is at your destination, saving you from a headache or two in your travels.
A photo posted by Google Maps (@googlemaps) on Jul 23, 2016 at 3:30pm PDT
In a beta version of the app currently in testing, the new feature details parking information for your destination as soon as you set driving directions. According to Ars Technica, the feature offers “three levels of parking availability: ‘Easy,’ “Medium,’ and ‘Limited’ for areas where parking is typically hard to come by. During your drive, you can expand the turn-by-turn directions to see a more detailed explanation of your destination’s parking situation. While the descriptions are not real-time indicators of the parking situation you’re driving into, they do tell you how easy it ‘usually’ is to find a parking spot near your destination.”
So far, it seems the feature is limited to public places like airports and shopping centers, but this information could be hugely helpful as you step out the door, to know what to expect for parking when you get to your final destination.
A photo posted by SSLink Cosplay (@sslinkcosplay) on Jan 17, 2017 at 3:30pm PST
While this feature doesn’t update in real-time (yet, anyway!) this is still so cool for those of us who have driven hastily around city blocks trying to find a parking lot or an available parking spot. Bravo, Google!
