Parking meters invented
Parking meters were introduced in the 1930s as a response to the growing parking challenges associated with the rise of automobiles. The first installation occurred in Oklahoma City in 1935, transitioning from a system where police marked tires to a more efficient meter-based approach. These one-foot-tall devices allowed motorists to pay for parking time by inserting a nickel, which raised a flag to indicate the duration allowed. Once the time expired, the flag dropped, alerting authorities to potential violations. The implementation of parking meters led to better adherence to time limits, maximizing the use of curb space and significantly increasing the turnover of parking spots. Cities like Dallas and Miami soon realized financial benefits from the meters, which not only optimized parking availability but also generated revenue. Despite some opposition from organizations like the American Automobile Association, the adoption of parking meters spread, bringing about changes in urban management and parking practices. Overall, parking meters have played a pivotal role in addressing urban parking issues, balancing the needs of motorists and city operations.
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Parking meters invented
Mechanical devices used to regulate parking on city streets
Parking meters helped cities find enough space to accommodate the thousands of motorists who drove cars through their streets. Meters forced the turnover of valuable downtown parking spaces while providing much-needed revenue to the cities.
The age of the automobile brought the age of the parking problem. Without sufficient space alongside the curb or in parking lots, motorists could not leave their cars to patronize businesses. Those who did find parking spaces often parked in ways that slowed down the movement of traffic.
Oklahoma City pioneered the installation of parking meters in 1935. In the old parking system, the police traffic squad placed chalk marks on tires of parked vehicles and then rechecked them at the end of a given period. In the new system, workers placed a one-foot-tall parking meter, equipped with a clock, in each twenty-foot space. When a nickel was placed into a slot, a flag raised, indicating by a pointer the time allowed in that space. When the time limit was exhausted, the flag dropped out of sight, showing that the motorist had overstayed his or her time and was now subject to a traffic ticket.
Dallas, Miami, and other cities soon discovered that time limits for parking were more closely observed where meters were installed. The meters checked the overtime rigidly so that street space was used to the maximum. In curb space that accommodated two thousand cars, a strictly enforced hourly turnover could accommodate twenty thousand vehicles a day. Police could also monitor the flags more easily than chalk marks. In 1936, Dallas estimated that parking meters brought in $120,000, or enough to pay for their installation in about six months.
Impact
Despite protests by such groups as the American Automobile Association, more and more cities adopted parking meters. The meters reduced monopolization of parking spaces, gave motorists more space in which to maneuver, and earned a profit for cities.
Bibliography
Hinckley, James, and Jon Robinson. The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana. St. Paul, Minn.: Motorbooks, 2005.
Shoup, Donald C. The High Cost of Free Parking. Chicago: Planners Press, 2005.