Parking Meters Get Smarter

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: July 31, 2005 9:16:21 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: Parking Meters Get Smarter



Parking Meters Get Smarter

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
June 30, 2005; Page B1

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.

...

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112008647932273412- 
wcgfanaRACAlCq6aTdEWvysXWoY_20060701,00.html


http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK- 
AE705B_METERS06292005200218.jpg




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