Downtown parking meters in many cities generate revenue but also create traffic congestion as drivers circle blocks searching for available...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Downtown parking meters in many cities generate revenue but also create traffic congestion as drivers circle blocks searching for available spaces. Traditional solutions like building more parking garages are expensive and consume valuable urban real estate. New smart parking systems that use sensors and mobile apps to guide drivers directly to open spaces may provide a way to efficiently manage existing parking resources, therefore _______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
making existing parking meters more profitable for city governments.
increasing the number of drivers who choose downtown destinations.
reducing traffic congestion without requiring additional parking infrastructure.
enabling drivers to locate parking spaces using traditional methods.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Downtown parking meters in many cities generate revenue but also create traffic congestion as drivers circle blocks searching for available spaces. |
|
| Traditional solutions like building more parking garages are expensive and consume valuable urban real estate. |
|
| New smart parking systems that use sensors and mobile apps to guide drivers directly to open spaces may provide a way to efficiently manage existing parking resources, |
|
| therefore _______ |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Smart parking systems using sensors and apps could solve parking problems more efficiently than traditional expensive solutions.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes a problem (parking creates congestion), shows why the obvious solution has major drawbacks (garages are expensive and use valuable space), then introduces a smarter alternative (sensor-based systems that optimize existing resources), leading to a conclusion about what this achieves.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage sets up a clear contrast: traditional solutions (expensive garages that use valuable land) versus smart systems (that efficiently manage existing resources)
- The smart approach avoids the problems of traditional solutions while addressing the original issue
- So the right answer should explain how smart parking systems solve the traffic congestion problem without the expensive infrastructure that traditional solutions require
making existing parking meters more profitable for city governments.
- This focuses on revenue generation for cities
- Misses the main point about solving traffic congestion
- The passage emphasizes efficiency and congestion reduction, not profit maximization
increasing the number of drivers who choose downtown destinations.
- Increasing drivers would make the congestion problem worse, not better
- Contradicts the goal of reducing traffic problems
reducing traffic congestion without requiring additional parking infrastructure.
- Directly addresses both key elements: reducing congestion (the original problem) and avoiding additional infrastructure (the drawback of traditional solutions)
- Perfectly captures the therefore relationship - smart systems achieve the goal without the expensive downsides
enabling drivers to locate parking spaces using traditional methods.
- Traditional methods contradicts the whole concept of new smart technology
- The passage specifically contrasts smart systems with traditional approaches