Those Pesky Parking Meters

"Parking meters were such a novelty when first installed in Downtown Boise in 1940 that the Idaho Statesman ran a feature story titled 'Lesson No. 1: How to Use Parking Meter.' The reporter treated the innovation with humor. When the pipe bases on which the meters were to be mounted were in place, he thought the streets would look like 'an uncompleted dairy farm. The fence posts will be there, but the fence will be missing.'"

"Mayor James Straight was a strong supporter of the innovation, but he would face plenty of opposition over the next few months, and find himself having to sell the notion of paid parking spaces to merchants and shoppers alike. Even before Boise's first 500 meters were officially ready for business on Monday, March 26, 1940, curious people were already dropping pennies and nickels into them to see if they really worked."