Illustrated History of San Francisco’s Parking Meters
Two thousand twenty-four marks 77 years of using parking meters in San Francisco to ease congestion and help business customers find spaces. The city’s first parking meters were installed in August 1947. In the years since, the city has seen parking meter style and technology evolve. Scroll through to learn about the history of parking meters in San Francisco.
When did we start using parking meters, and why?
In 1935, the world's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City at the intersection of First Street and Robinson Avenue to promote parking turnover in the business district. 1
The parking meter was seen as the ideal solution to the city's parking issues since it would maintain traffic flow and increase the number of parking spots available to customers. Parking meters quickly became commonplace in cities across America, and San Francisco installed the city's first parking meter 12 years later, in 1947.
- Source: History.com, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/worlds-first-parking-meter-installed , Accessed on January 24, 2024
The Birth of the Parking Meter
77 Years of Parking Meters in San Francisco
(Left) Mayor Roger D. Lapham tested the first parking meter (Park-O-Meter from Oklahoma) in San Francisco on August 21, 1947. (Center) San Francisco Police Officer Clara Neece inspecting a Park-O-Meter. (Right) Park-O-Meter on Haight Street between Cole and Shrader 1967. Courtesy of San Francisco Public Library.
Soon after World War II ended, San Francisco's population grew, and the streets became congested with traffic. The city needed a financial boost to continue offering services and a decent standard of living to the 125,000 new residents who had arrived since the start of the war. Then-Mayor Roger Lapham was pivotal in installing the city's first parking meter at Bush and Polk Streets on August 21, 1947.
Overseeing the City’s Meters
The Evolution of San Francisco’s Parking Meters
Parking Meters In San Francisco Over The Years
Parking meters through the years
Park-O-Meter Parking Meter
Duncan Miller Parking Meter
Meter Mechanisms: Inner Workings of a Parking Meter
MacKay: First electronic single-space parking meters in San Francisco were deployed in 2002.
Reino Multi-Space Parking Paystations
Reino multi-space parking paystations were installed in 2002-2003.
IPS: The first smart parking meter in San Francisco was deployed in 2012 as part of the SFpark pilot program.
IPS Smart meters were the first to incorporate wireless (cellular) technology. This technology added the ability to accept credit card payments at meters. It also allowed for meter rates and operating hours to be updated for all meters simultaneously instead of the previous process requiring each meter to be manually updated.
SFMTA Meter Shop
Upgrading San Francisco’s Parking Meters
Under the parking meter replacement project, the SFMTA began replacing the city's 26,000 parking meters in 2022 because they relied on outdated 3G technology the cellular service providers soon would sunset. About half of the city's parking meters are being replaced with new single-space meters, and the other half will receive multi-space paystations and a new pay-by-license-plate parking system.
How The SFMTA Uses Meter Revenue
The SFMTA's metered parking revenue covers the program's cost and provides vital funding to keep Muni transit service in operation. San Francisco is unique among American cities as the City Charter was modified by voters in November 1999 with the passage of Proposition E to create the SFMTA, which required meter revenues to be used to improve transportation services in the city. (Source: FY2006 Final Short Range Transit Plan - Appendices (version 6 accessible pdf) (sfmta.com)
Using parking meters to charge for the use of the curb continues to be the best way to manage this valuable resource for the citizens of San Francisco. SFMTA will continue to support innovative work to ensure the best tools are available to manage access to the most valuable roadway resource, the curbside on city streets.
