Wireless Technology Turns Old-Fashioned Coin-Operated Device Into a Sophisticated Tool for Catching Scofflaws and Raising Cash
By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Technology is taking much of the fun out of finding a place to park the car.
In Pacific Grove, Calif., parking meters know when a car pulls out of the spot and quickly reset to zero -- eliminating drivers' little joy of parking for free on someone else's quarters.
In Montreal, when cars stay past their time limit, meters send real-time alerts to an enforcement officer's hand-held device, reducing the number of people needed to monitor parking spaces -- not to mention drivers' chances of getting away with violations. Meanwhile, in Aspen, Colo., wireless "in-car" meters may eliminate the need for curbside parking meters altogether: They dangle from the rear-view mirror inside the car, ticking off prepaid time.
These and other innovations are reshaping the parking meter, a device that dates to 1933, when an Oklahoma inventor named Carl Magee, working with some colleagues, came up with the coin-operated, single-space mechanical meter as a means of freeing up parking spaces in downtown Oklahoma City. Two Arkansas companies have dominated the industry: POM Inc., of Russellville, which traces its lineage to Mr. Magee and his band of inventors; and Duncan Parking Technologies Inc., of Harrison.