Smart Loading Zones

BACKGROUND

Smart Loading Zones, launched in April 2022 were designed to address double parking and reduce traffic in Pittsburgh.

They were marked by purple curbs and signs around the city and introduced a new app for this new experience.

A smart loading zone in Pittsburgh

IDENTIFIED PROBLEM

Through our research we found that the zones faced user adoption challenges even after a year, preventing it from achieving its intended environmental impact.

Through a combination of primary and secondary research with Pittsburgh drivers, we identified three critical findings that affected adoptability of these zones:
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01 Low awareness of zone’s purpose & target users due to unclear signage

Poorly communicated signs left drivers unsure and hesitant to use the SLZ.

02 Unnecessary friction in payment and registration process

A lengthy registration and rigid payment process frustrated users, leading to drop-offs.

03 Lack of parallels to existing systems created a adoption barrier

Introduction of a new app caused a sense of discontinuity, as drivers were accustomed to an existing parking app.

Contextual Inquiry

Data Analysis

Heuristic Evaluation

Hence our challenge was,

How might we reduce fears and blockers that are leading to low adoptability by Pittsburgh drivers conducting curbside pickup activities?
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SOLUTION OVERVIEW

By capitalizing on familiarity and enhancing clarity, we redesigned the experience to simplify decision-making and encourage adoption

SOLUTION 1

Before

Confusing Signage

Didn’t clearly communicate the use case or pricing structure, yet asked users to register—even for short-term parking.

After

Informative signage boosting user confidence for parking

Highlighting key info first—like “15 minutes free,” familiar app registration, and clear pricing structure and alternate payment options.

SOLUTION 2

Before

A second app for loading zone on same street

Add another lengthy and confusing registration for a short-term parking didn’t prompt adoptability among Pittsburgh Drivers.

After

Removed the need for a new app by introducing a more intuitive approach using AI-based tracking

Enabling quick time notifications based on AI car tracking and seamless billing—all in a familiar platform.

Let's understand how we reached to this solution:

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01 EXPLORING AND EVALUATING CURRENT STATE

To set our research goals for this broad and ambiguous space, we employed a variety of methods to reframe and define our objectives.

We started with conducting secondary research:

A walking the wall activity to synthesize the data from secondary research by listing the “Problems”, “Needs”, and “Possible Solutions”
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This led us to explore how can we improve signage, streamline registration process, and enhance pricing transparency for higher user adoption.

02 UNDERSTANDING HOW USERS PERCEIVED AND USED SLZ

We conducted 14 contextual inquiries with drivers on a busy street to understand their awareness of and experience with SLZs
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Intercepting users on-site helped us understand their natural interactions with SLZs, revealing key pain points and insights.

Moment from our intercept interview

Synthesizing the qualitative data via:

This helped us gain 3 major insights shaping our design concepts:
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INSIGHT #1

Users are placed in an ambiguous space between regular parking and loading owing to unclear signage

The name “loading zone” confused users of its target users and purpose, even tho its was also supposed to be for short stops like grabbing takeouts.

INSIGHT #2

Users will look for the path of least resistance in order to minimize their already brief time on task.

Users saw parking as a transient activity when collecting their orders and hence under time pressure, they either abandoned the zone completely rather than exploring the zone or registering on new app.

INSIGHT #3

People prefer using familiar and existing systems when conducting comparable tasks.

2 of our participants attempted to use the PGH Go Mobile app for SLZ payments. This preference for consistency emphasizes the importance of aligning new systems with familiar ones to facilitate smoother user adoption and minimize confusion.

Our turning point was the finding that an app already existed used by ~60% of Pittsburgh drivers, so was a new app necessary?

Even on the same street, users had to switch between two different apps—one for regular parking and another for Smart Loading Zones—even though both were managed by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.

By integrating SLZ functionality into the existing app we could:

reduce cost by

$10,000

for Pittsburgh Parking Authority by not creating an extra app and focusing on existing one

“I am trying to use Go mobile app I have, but I cannot find this zone on it”

“I only look for the Go Mobile logo when I look for parking”

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03 EXPLORING DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Based on the insights, we defined 4 users needs and ideated possible solutions

USER NEED#1
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Quickly conduct the short curbside pick-up
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USER NEED#2
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Understand if they can use SLZ, and how so

USER NEED#3
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Be aware of how they are charged

USER NEED#4
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Interact with SLZ, irrespective of tech literacy

Walk the wall

Crazy 8s

Prioritization

To validate our ideas and user needs, we conducted speed dating sessions with 4 participants using 12 storyboards that represented a range of risk levels.

3 of the 12 storyboards we used in speed dating

And we found that:
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Drivers generally don’t object to the concept of paying for parking. Rather, they find the process of paying for quick parking to be inconvenient.

Users do not mind a AI-tracking via camera as long as it makes their parking experience efficient and convenient while not infringing on private information.

Participants believe that the word “smart” can be confusing, SLZ should have a different name that more clearly describes it’s intended use

Users want multiple modes of payments, since there are so many different and convenient options of payment.

Hence we learned that,

People need to make quick decisions based on signage, and frictionless experience that aligned with their expectations and mental models

04 PROTOTYPING & USABILITY TESTING

Using low-fidelity prototypes of updated signage and app screens, we approached drivers on the street to get candid user reactions.

Our prototypes focused on:
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This helped us to gather valuable feedback and refine our final solution.

FINAL SOLUTION

SOLUTION 1

Informative signage boosting user confidence for short-term parking

Eliminating doubts and encouraging use by highlighting key info first—like “15 minutes free,” familiar app registration, and clear pricing structure and alternate payment options.

SOLUTION 2

Integrating smart loading zones and AI vehicle tracking into the existing parking app, boosting adoption via familarity
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We integrated the experience into the existing PGH Go Mobile app, which is used by nearly 60% of Pittsburgh residents, enabling quick time notifications and seamless billing—all in a familiar platform.