Oklahoma City, where parking meters began, modernizes system

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The city where parking meters were born says it’s doing away with the last of its coin-operated models by the end of the year as it installs new computerized ones.

Technology inside Oklahoma City’s old-school meters dated to the 1960s and 1970s. Many companies that once serviced them have long been out of business. The city is switching to solar-powered kiosks that feature a “pay-by-plate” system.

Meters began springing up in cities throughout America after the first one was installed in downtown Oklahoma City in 1935. Cities soon came to rely on their steady revenue – and the fines for failing to pay- to pad coffers.

Those fines aren’t going away, much to the dismay of motorists who’ve carried on a mostly hate-hate relationship with the machines for generations.