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Ode to a parking meter >> In praise of spring-loaded technology
by PHILIP PREVILLE
Parking meters are the ultimate low-tech machine. They're small, unobtrusive, eco-friendly (no electrical current) and they levy hefty fines only against eco-unfriendly urban motorists. And though no one makes them anymore, they're hardly obsolete: since 1994, the number of parking meters in Montreal has increased from 11,775 to 15,538. In 1998, motorists dropped a total of $20,221,104 in spare change into the meters. And though motorists hate them, the old parking meters can be easily scammed with slugs, washers, wires and other inventive jimmying devices. SDM refused to say which methods are most popular. SDM did say, however, that more and more meters are being cracked open by change-hungry thieves. And then there are the tickets: in 1998, 254,764 tickets were issued to motorists whose time on the meter had expired. They also wrote up 1,670 infractions for cars taking up the space of two meters, and 716 more for people who put money into the machine but forgot to turn the crank and spring-load the timer. At $37 a pop, that's over $9 million worth of tickets. 15,538 parking meters also means 15,538 bicycle parking spaces interspersed throughout the city. Technically, it's illegal to park your bike on a meter, but the bylaw is not enforced. Every year, about 20 bicycle skeletons (already scavenged for their seats, tires and other removable parts) are abandoned at the stake; SDM warehouses them for a year and then, if no one calls to claim them, hands them over to charity. Final factoid: The SDM does not yet know exactly what the new meters will look like. But expect the following: there will be only one or two meters per block to handle the same number of parking spaces, resulting in a loss of bicycle parking; they will be slug-proof and jimmy-resistant; and they will accept credit and debit cards, which means they're less liable to be vandalized because they'll hold less real money. You may hate the old meters now, but you'll be missing them soon.
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Later this year, Stationnement de Montréal (SDM) will begin testing new electronic machinery designed to replace all the city's parking meters. They have no choice: no one manufactures the old-style parking meters anymore.