The Parking Meter Turns 75 Today

nj_peeps writes "75 years ago Carl Magee filed a patent application for what would become one of the most hated inventions in history: the parking meter. From the article: 'Magee's brainwave was to install a device that had a coin acceptor and a dial to engage a timing mechanism. A visible pointer and flag indicated the expiration of the paid period, meaning you either had to move, put in more money, or face the wrath of the local constabulary. The design continued largely unchanged for more than 40 years.'"

Hated, but necessary

[Anonymous Coward]

You really think it would make it easier to park in large cities for short errands if they didn't exist? Thank God someone actually thought enough to address the problem.

Why is this in YRO?

[AdmiralXyz]

Is parking for free an inalienable right now? Did I miss a recent update to the US/EU constitutions?

Re:To keep spaces open for customers

[jeffmeden]

Imagine that individual businesses had the power to set meter pricing and time limits... You would be on another planet, somewhere in a different solar system. The meters are there at the whim of the city. Properly used, they can be great tools. Misused or overused, and they can be a headache and a deterrent to regular customers.

Re:Yes, they piss me off

[RIAAShill]

So, taxes pay for the roads, the sidewalks, etc. If you pay taxes, and you park where these fucking abominations are, then you get the pleasure of paying another tax on top of what you've already paid to park there.

That sounds great, doesn't it?

Sounds better than driving around for an hour trying to find a parking spot. Putting a price tag on a spot encourages use of public transit or private parking. It can also discourage even visiting in the first place, so municipialities and businesses have to consider whether demand is strong enough to support parking meters (or, in many cases, whether more investment in free parking is justified).

$2 an hour for a good shot at a nice parking spot, along with the knowledge that I'm giving a boost to help fund improvements in the roads, schools, and other assets and services, doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.

Re:I am fine with the meters themselves

[Comboman]

Why hate the meters?

I agree. Now the guy who invented the pay toilet, that's another story.

Re:Yes, they piss me off

[JesseL]

The money collected from the meters may not amount to much, but the revenue from parking tickets for lapsed meters is spectacular.

I don't mind parking meteres.

[Petersko]

I live and work in a busy downtown area. If there were no meters all spots would be taken by 8:00 a.m. and anybody coming downtown during the day to do business would be out of luck.

Parking meters don't just take in money, they help moderate the usage of the space.

Re:There's something worse

[pclminion]

What's with the "this is Portland" thing? Portland has car prowlers like any city, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary. And anyway, why lock your door? Do you WANT a broken window? What are you keeping in there, suitcases of $100's?

Re:There's something worse

[DNS-and-BIND]

Maybe the idea is that you're not supposed to own a car, and that the private automobile is a wasteful, selfish mode of transportation? Ever think of that? Maybe the idea is to make every facet of car ownership irritating and oppressive, so that you'll have your car recycled and ride a bicycle instead? Ever think about how good it would feel to stop contributing to climate change and instead use a sustainable method of transportation?

Re:To keep spaces open for customers

[Mr. Freeman]

"Imagine that you run a coffee shop. You want your customers to use the space in front of the shop while in the shop, and you don't want someone who works across the street to hog the space for 8 hours straight. So to keep the spaces open for customers, you restrict parking time to how long it takes to buy and consume coffee and a sandwich."

That'd be great except that you, as the coffee shop owner, do NOT own that road. That road belongs to the taxpayers. You have no right to restrict who parks on the PUBLIC street. It would be a different story if YOU owned the road. Of course, that would mean that YOU have to pay to build the road in the first place. If you're willing to pay for it, then be my guest, you have every right to charge for use of the road.

What the real issue here is that the coffee shop owner wants to take PRIVATE control of PUBLIC property. I might as well try and claim ownership of the police station down the street and charge everyone who works there for use of the building.