The Ever Present Parking Meter

The parking meter, any of us that has ever had to park on city street has had an encounter with these coin gobblers. They can be found in cities across the country and after paying the right amount of money grants us the privilege of parking on a street for a certain amount of time. And I'm sure that many of us have also had the wonderful experience of realizing the meter has run out and dashing back to it in order to extend the time. Some of us who are fortunate make it in time, those who are not often find a present in the shape of a parking ticket waiting for us. And you know for the first time I found myself wondering why do these things even exist? Were they created by city officials in a nefarious scheme to make more money or do they have some other purpose beyond being mildly annoying pests for car owning city goers?

A quick google search later and according to Smithsonian.com these coin sucking annoyances were actually first instituted in order to help keep traffic moving and keeping customers and shoppers flowing into stores. And were even appreciated by the general public who had to pay store and business owners hourly rates for parking in front of their businesses. Funny how something many of us find so annoying was praised as a great invention. Also it would seem that the design of the parking meter hasn't changed much over the years.

Except up until recently where we have far more modernized and space efficient parking meters. Unfortunately it seems that these menaces are here to stay and whether we realize it or not they actually serve some purpose beyond being a nice little revenue source for cities.

Works Cited

Eveleth, Rose. "Parking Meters, Originally Meant to Keep Traffic Moving, Need an Update". Smithsonian.com.  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/parking-meters-originally-meant-to-keep-traffic-moving-need-an-update-7446458/.Accessed 17, Sept 2018.