Parking Meters

In the wake of the problem-plagued privatization of Chicago's parking meters in 2008, two WSJ reporters assess conversions (or attempts) in Indianapolis (2010), Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and New York, as well as what went wrong in Chicago.

January 28, 2013 - The Wall Street Jounal

Contrary to many motorists' fears, San Francisco's demand-based parking pricing has reduced overall average hourly rates and ticket citations.

December 19, 2012 - San Francisco Examiner

In the frenzied hunt for new revenue streams, municipal authorities are getting creative in capitalizing on their assets. Nate Berg follows the example of Sacramento, who is considering privatizing its parking meters to pay for a new sports arena.

March 14, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

75 years after the first meter was installed in Oklahoma City, cities are beginning to rethink traditional parking regulation strategies. Tom Vanderbilt considers the options.

October 21, 2010 - Slate

Los Angeles is planning to undertake a year-long experiment in demand-based pricing on parking in its downtown. The dynamic parking system will be put in place next summer.

August 24, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

San Francisco has begun a two-year test of variably-priced parking meters in an effort to see how pricing affects driving and parking decisions in parts of the city.

July 31, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco's transportation agency has proposed the installation of parking meters in a handful of neighborhoods that dynamically change their prices according to the time of day and the related demand.

June 3, 2010 - San Francisco Examiner

The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to approve a 30-day moratorium on enforcing the city's privately managed parking meters.

May 6, 2010 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New York follows a trend happening in cities across the country, taking out parking meters in favor of central pay stations and turning some old meters into bike parking.

February 17, 2010 - New York Post

The City of Chicago, in a much criticized move, recently privatized its parking enforcement. Stephen Goldsmith says the program should be celebrated instead of booed.

January 24, 2010 - Governing Magazine

Chicago's decision to privatize its parking meters seems to be a loss for the city, as new data shows the city could have made much more money in the long term had they maintained operational management.

November 22, 2009 - The New York Times

Earlier this year, The City of Chicago handed over control of their parking meter enforcement to a private company. A watchdog group is suing, saying the city didn't have a right to lease the public's streets.

August 20, 2009 - Chicago Sun-Times

At a digital security conference in Las Vegas, a presenter showed that newer "smart" parking meters can be hacked, giving the hacker free parking wherever they go.

August 5, 2009 - Boing Boing

With cities switching to new pay kiosks, parking meters are going the way of the dodo- unfortunately for bikers, who use the posts for bike racks. A handful of cities are seeing the possibility in old posts.

July 2, 2009 - Streetsblog

A new technology in use in Sacramento, CA snaps pics of cars' tires and compares them on the next sweep, increasing the number of time violators caught.

June 21, 2009 - The Seattle Times

The City of St. Petersburg, Florida has proposed longer enforcement hours on parking meters. Residents and business owners are none too happy about the change.

June 12, 2009 - St. Petersburg Times

For $1.16 billion, Chicago Parking Meters LLC, has won the rights to manage Chicago's parking meters. This is one step the city has taken to ease budget shortfalls.

December 4, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

On Tuesday, San Francisco's MUNI approved a pilot program to price 6,000 of the city's parking spots according to popularity.

November 21, 2008 - The New York Times