Parking meters

photograph by T. Scott Carlisle (link)

Parking meters in Birmingham are used to regulate the availability of parking spaces. The meters, numbering more than 3,000, are installed and maintained by the city's Department of Traffic Engineering.

In 1937 the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the parking meters used by the city of Birmingham exceeded its legal authority to collect revenues and ordered them removed.

In 1984 the Downtown Action Committee sponsored a Parking Meter Santa Claus who added coins to expired meters in retail districts downtown.

In 1994 the Birmingham City Council doubled the fine for parking on an expired meter from $5 to $10.

In 1996 the city began replacing older, mechanical meters with electronic ones. The first 46 were installed on Short 20th Street near Birmingham City Hall. At the time, Birmingham had 5,075 parking meters.

From 1999 to 2001 (at least) City Action Partnership (CAP) guides added nickels to expiring parking meters in their patrol area for the holidays. In 2001 CAP began an "Out of Sight, Out of Crime" campaign by placing stickers on almost 3,000 parking meters reminding motorists to put valuables in their trunks.

In 2008 most parking meter fees were doubled (excepting 15 minute meters) and fines for parking at expired meters were doubled from $15 to $30. Accordingly in fiscal year 2009 projected revenues from parking meters were set at $2.6 million, nearly double the actual collections of $1,304,003 reported for fiscal year 2008. $400,000 was earmarked in that budget for installing additional electronic parking meters.

In the 2010 Birmingham budget (prepared in 2009) the projected revenues from parking meters were returned to 2008 levels ($1.3 million). At the same time the city raised meter fees, doubling the 30-minute, 2-hour and 3-hour meters and increasing 10-hour meters from $2.00 to $2.50. The cost to replace meter mechanisms needed for the new fee schedule was estimated at $300 to $350 per meter, with the first ones installed on 19th Street, Short 20th Street, 22nd Street, and 5th Avenue North downtown.

In July 2009 scores of parking meters were broken into. One suspected looter was arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools. Nearly $10,000 in damages have been reported, and an unknown amount of money stolen.

References

• "Feed the meter now ... or pay more later." (June 29, 1994). The Birmingham News.
• "Parking Spot: New digital meters slowly move to city streets." (April 4, 1996). The Birmingham News.
• "Holiday Cheer." (December 22, 1999). The Birmingham News.
• Crossen, Cynthia (July 30, 2007) "When Parallel Parking Was New and Meters Seemed Un-American." Wall Street Journal.
• MacDonald, Ginny (June 25, 2009) "Birmingham, Alabama street parking rates will jump July 1." The Birmingham News.
• Gray, Jeremy (July 25, 2009) "Downtown Birmingham parking meters looted by thieves." Birmingham News