The History of Parking Meters
One of the most hated devices by consumers is a parking meter, as they tend to break a lot, expire early and people never have change for them. But this contraption has been around for more than 70 years in the United States and has provided billions of dollars in revenue for municipalities.
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First Meter
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Downtown Oklahoma City in 1935 was a bustling hub with offices, shopping, convenience stores, coffee shops and cafes. People who worked downtown would come early in the morning and take up all the spaces, leaving nowhere for patrons to park, causing the businesses in the central part to complain of lost revenue.
Carl C. Magee had just joined the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce traffic committee and was in charge of coming up with solutions for this problem. On May 13, 1935 he applied for a patent for a coin-operated parking meter. About a month later, the first one of these contraptions went up downtown.
Early Parking Meter Mechanics
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Magee's first meters charged up to 25 cents a day for the right to park. They used a similar mainspring as a clock to wind the countdown on the time. Some meters had to be manually turned by patrons putting in money, while others automatically went to the appropriate time when a coin was inserted. Magee started the Magee-Hale Park-O-Meter Company to create the first meters.
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Concept Spreads
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The city commissioners of Oklahoma City were so proud of their invention that they quickly spread the news to other municipalities about a great revenue generator, not only for the city through the machines, but also for the businesses that now had parking available for patrons. Soon other companies such as Dual, Mark-Time and Duncan-Miller sprung up to begin manufacturing their own version of the parking meter to meet the demand of the entire country.
Improvements
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As the concept of meters became more popular, cities wanted to continue to cut costs in the collection of parking funds. Manufactures answered the call by creating dual-head parking meters that worked for two spaces, could be mounted on one post and had one collection box. This cut a worker's job nearly in half. Also meters began to go digital with time, and some cities even introduced parking cards that could be used all over town without needing change. The latest invention to the standard meter is attaching a phone number to the box that patrons can call and set up an account and pay for parking over the phone with a credit card.
Electronic Central Meter Box
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With so many cars on the road, cities needed to expand their parking options. A central electronic meter box was introduced. This terminal allows a person to either enter the space he is parked in and pay for a certain amount of time, or a small printout receipt is given to the patron, which he must then put in his car. These electronic boxes accept cash, coins or plastic as payment.
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References
- Photo Credit Quadell
