Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1960

Date Range To

2018

Materials

METAL, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

1

Height

127

Length

40.8

Width

11.5

Description

SINGLE-SPACE DUPLEX PARKING METER WITH AN ELECTRONIC MECHANISM. THE METER CASING IS GREY FEATURING TWO GREEN DOMES IN THE SHAPE OF MICKEY MOUSE EARS. THE METERS ARE LABELED “30-61” AND “30-62” ON THE FRONT AND ATTACH TO A HOLLOW, METAL POLE. A STICKER NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE CASING READS “THIS CAR – INSERT VALID COINS ONLY – DISPLAY INDICATES TIME PURCHASED – CITY OF LETHBRIDGE – THIS CAR.” BOTH METERS HAVE A COIN SLOT AND A LABEL WHICH SAYS “FREE PARKING – WEEKDAYS AFTER 5:30 PM – ALL DAY WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS.” THE DIGITAL METERS ARE VISIBLE AT THE TOP OF THE HOUSING, BEHIND SEMI-TRANSPARENT PLASTIC. ON EITHER SIDE OF THE METER'S TIME DISPLAY, THE WORDS “MACKAY" AND "GUARDIAN” ARE INSCRIBED VERTICALLY. A METAL PLATE FASTENS TO THE REAR, AND TWO KEYHOLES PROTRUDE ABOVE IT. THROUGHOUT, THERE ARE MANY SCRATCHES AND PAINT CHIPS. OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

REGULATIVE & PROTECTIVE T&E

Historical Association

TRANSPORTATION

History

ON JULY 4TH, 2018, THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE REMOVED THIS PARKING METER FROM THE 300 BLOCK OF 3RD STREET SOUTH AND DONATED IT TO THE GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES. ALL OF THE COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS IN LETHBRIDGE’S DOWNTOWN CORE HAVE SINCE BEEN REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH MULTI-SPACE PARKING KIOSKS. IN DECEMBER 2015, THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE HOSTED AN INFORMATIONAL SESSION INFORMING LETHBRIDGE RESIDENTS ABOUT AN IMPENDING UPGRADE TO THE DOWNTOWN PARKING SYSTEM. VAL FELLGER WAS THE 2015 INITIATIVE’S PARKING COORDINATOR. FELLGER OUTLINED REASONS FOR UPDATING THE EXISTING PARKING SYSTEM IN A 2018 CITY OF LETHBRIDGE MEDIA RELEASE. THE ANNOUNCEMENT SAYS, “THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PAID AND TIME ZONED PARKING IN DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE IS TO ACHIEVE PARKING TURNOVER WHICH RESULTS IN EQUITABLE AVAILABILITY OF PARKING TO SHOPPERS AND VISITORS TO DOWNTOWN…THERE ARE CURRENTLY A LITTLE OVER 1500 PARKING METERS IN THE DOWNTOWN. APPROXIMATELY 95 PERCENT OF THE PARKING METER INFRASTRUCTURE, PARKING METER HOUSINGS AND SUPPORT POLES ARE GREATER THAN 25 YEARS OLD. THESE HOUSINGS AND POLES ARE STARTING TO SHOW SIGNS OF WEAR AND LOOK UNKEMPT. MANY OF THE METERS CANNOT BE REPROGRAMMED TO ACCEPT NEW COINS OR OTHER PAYMENT OPTIONS.” THE CITY PONDERED THREE OPTIONS FOR THE IMPROVED SYSTEM: 100 PERCENT SINGLE-SPACE METERS WITH FOOT PATROL ENFORCEMENT, 100 PERCENT PAY-BY-PLATE MULTI-SPACE SMART MACHINES WITH MOBILE LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION ENFORCEMENT, AND A HYBRID SYSTEM COMPRISED OF PAY-BY-PLATE MACHINES WITH MOBILE LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION ENFORCEMENT AND IN ISOLATED LOCATIONS, INCLUDING BARRIER-FREE PARKING STALLS, SINGLE-SPACE SMART METERS WITH FOOT PATROL ENFORCEMENT. IN THE DOWNTOWN PARKING METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT STAKEHOLDER & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT REPORT, 80 PERCENT OF THE PUBLIC SELECTED THE HYBRID SYSTEM. IN AUGUST 2017, THE CITY CHOSE A VENDOR, AND BY JUNE 2018 THE NEW SYSTEM WAS UP AND RUNNING. AS A RESULT, 1526 COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS WERE REMOVED FROM DOWNTOWN STREETS AND 170 MULTI-SPACE KIOSKS WERE INSTALLED. IN A CITY OF LETHBRIDGE MEDIA RELEASE FROM MAY 28, 2018, MAYOR CHRIS SPEARMAN SAYS, “THIS IS ANOTHER SIGN OF HOW OUR CITY IS GROWING UP. WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A “SMART CITY” AND USING TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE US MORE EFFICIENT. THAT’S WHAT THIS NEW SYSTEM DOES.” FELLGER ADDED, “THE KIOSKS ARE SOLAR POWERED MAKING THEM MORE COST EFFECTIVE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TO OPERATE THAN THE PREVIOUS PARKING METERS THAT USED AA BATTERIES.” ON DECEMBER 12, 2018, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE’S ACTING PARKING COORDINATOR PHILLIP BERG. BERG ASSISTED FELLGER WITH THE PLANNING OF THE NEW PARKING SYSTEM. CONCERNING THE ROLLOUT OF THE METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT, BERG SAID, “IT WAS PRETTY HECTIC. PEOPLE WERE STILL A LITTLE RESISTANT TO CHANGE. WE HAD CONDITIONED PEOPLE TO A PARKING STYLE FOR THE LAST 50 TO 60 YEARS, AND IN ONE NIGHT WE CHANGED EVERYTHING OVER. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF RESISTANCE.” TO DEAL WITH THE RESISTANCE, BERG KEPT AN OPEN DIALOGUE WITH THE PUBLIC. “THERE WERE TIMES THAT MY PHONE DIDN’T STOP RINGING FOR DAYS, BUT WE’VE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES TO SCREEN DISPLAY AND SIGNAGE. [WE’VE DONE] EVERYTHING WE CAN POSSIBLY DO TO FACILITATE THE BEST PARKING MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WE CAN.” PRIOR TO THE PROJECT, BERG WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS AS LETHBRIDGE’S PARKING AND TRAFFIC TECHNICIAN. HE SAID, “I DID ALL THE REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE, AND PROGRAMMING THAT HAPPENED WITH THESE SINGLE-SPACE METERS FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. ANYTHING FROM RE-BUILDING HOUSINGS [TO] PUTTING THEM TOGETHER FROM DIFFERENT PIECES TO RE-PROGRAMMING THEM…THEY WERE BROKEN. THERE WAS A LOT OF PIECES THAT WERE ‘FRANKENSTEINED’ TOGETHER TO ALLOW THE METERS TO FUNCTION. THERE WERE TIMES THAT I WAS TAKING AND GRINDING DOWN PARTS TO MAKE THEM WORK. WHEN I FIRST STARTED, I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER OF THE HOUSINGS [AND ASKED TO ORDER PARTS]. THEY LAUGHED AT ME AND [SENT ME EVERYTHING THEY HAD LEFT FOR FREE]. I GOT ALL THESE OLD DUSTY BOXES WITH PIECES WRAPPED IN NEWSPAPER, AND I WOULD BUILD WHATEVER I COULD TO GET THEM OUT ON THE STREET.” BEFORE BERG, LARRY WYROSTOK WAS THE PARKING AND TRAFFIC TECHNICIAN FOR SEVEN YEARS, AND MACLEAN INTERVIEWED HIM ON DECEMBER 20, 2018. WYROSTOK SUGGESTED THAT THE TWO MAIN REASONS THAT THE PARKING METERS BROKE DOWN WERE THEIR AGE AND VANDALISM. REGARDING VANDALISM, HE SAID, “WE USED TO HAVE QUITE A BIT. [ONE TIME I WAS DRIVING BY THE COURT HOUSE] AND SOMEONE USED A ROLL OF DUCK-TAPE ON A METER, [AND] THEY JUST COVERED UP THE WHOLE THING. IT WAS PROBABLY TWO OR THREE INCHES THICK, JUST SO THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO PLUG IT. I TOOK ALL THE DUCK-TAPE OFF, AND THE METER SEEMED TO WORK FINE. YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF STUFF [ON THE STREET.]” WYROSTOK SUGGESTED THAT ANOTHER ASPECT OF THE JOB WAS COLLECTING THE COINS FROM THE METERS. HE SAID, “[I SPENT] A COUPLE OF DAYS A WEEK COLLECTING IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER; RAIN, SLEET, AND SNOW. I CAN REMEMBER [DAYS THAT WERE] 35 DEGREES BELOW. [I WOULD PUT MY] METER KEY IN THE VAULT DOOR, AND IT WOULDN’T OPEN. IT WAS FROZEN SHUT. [SO I WOULD TAKE] A RUBBER MALLET AND GIVE THE [VAULT DOOR] A LITTLE TAP AND THEN [I WOULD] SPRAY SOME ETHER ON IT. IT COULD BE QUITE TEDIOUS BECAUSE [I HAD] 1500 METERS TO COLLECT FROM.” LIKE PARKING AND TRAFFIC TECHNICIANS, PARKING COMMISSIONAIRES ALSO HAD TO WORK IN ALL KINDS OF CONDITIONS. ON DECEMBER 18, 2018, MACLEAN INTERVIEWED RETIRED PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE, MAVIS BASTIE ABOUT HER TIME WORKING WITH THE PARKING METERS IN LETHBRIDGE’S DOWNTOWN CORE. BASTIE MOVED FROM HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA TO LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA IN 1993. SHE SAID, “WHEN I ARRIVED HERE THE VERY FIRST THING I DID THAT WEEK WAS GO OVER TO THE CORPS OF COMMISSIONAIRES HERE IN LETHBRIDGE AND SAID THAT I WANTED TO BECOME A COMMISSIONAIRE. I WAS IMMEDIATELY GIVEN A JOB, AND THAT JOB HAPPENED TO BE GOING OUT AND DOING PARKING, WHICH MEANT WALKING THE STREETS…WALKING THE STREETS WAS DOING THE METERS AND CHECKING VEHICLES.” BASTIE WORKED AS A PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE FOR APPROXIMATELY TEN YEARS. DURING HER INTERVIEW, SHE EXPLAINED THAT THERE WERE FOUR PARKING BEATS WITHIN LETHBRIDGE, “THE FIRST ROUTE WAS MAINLY WALKING AROUND AND DOING THE TICKETING OF THE CARS THAT WERE AT METERS THAT WERE EXPIRED...BEAT ONE WAS DOWNTOWN, AND IT CAME OUT OF THE OLD POLICE STATION [TO THIRD AVENUE]…THIRD AVENUE BECAME BEAT TWO AND THEN BEAT THREE WAS A DRIVING [AND WALKING] AREA…BEAT THREE WOULD BE MORE OVER TOWARDS THE HOSPITAL…BEAT FOUR WAS JUST THE DRIVING, THAT MEANT DRIVING AROUND THE HOSPITAL.” BASTIE SUGGESTED THAT ONE OF THE BUSIEST TIMES OF YEAR TO BE A PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE WAS DURING THE WHOOP-UP DAYS PARADE, “YOU’RE JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE REALIZE THAT JUST BECAUSE IT’S WHOOP-UP DAYS DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH [PARKING ILLEGALLY]. YOU STILL HAVE TO PLUG THE METERS. IF THAT METER EXPIRES AND YOU DON’T MOVE YOUR VEHICLE YOU GET A TICKET.” BASTIE WAS THE ONLY FEMALE PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE IN LETHBRIDGE DURING THE 1990S. SHE SUGGESTED THAT DUE TO THIS SHE RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM HER COLLEAGUES AND THE LETHBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, “[IF SOMEONE WAS HARASSING ME] I JUST HAD TO PICK UP THE RADIO… THEY WERE THERE FOR YOU, AND I KNEW THAT NOBODY WOULD EVER HURT ME. THEY WOULDN’T DARE. IT WASN’T BECAUSE I COULDN’T TAKE THEM ON, BUT IT WAS BECAUSE THESE GUYS [WERE LOOKING OUT FOR ME]…YOU’VE ALWAYS GOT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THERE BEHIND YOU, AND I HONESTLY HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN I WORKED FOR THE CORP BACK IN THOSE YEARS, WE HAD THE MOST SENSATIONAL POLICE OFFICERS THAT I HAVE EVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH.” FOR BASTIE THE BEST PART OF BEING A PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE WAS WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC. SHE SAID, “[WORKING PARKING WAS] A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW PEOPLE...[IT] WAS SOMETHING THAT I NEVER EXPECTED AND I DON’T THINK PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF PARKING… [I GOT TO] ASSOCIATE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE, AND IF [I SHOWED] THEM RESPECT THEY [SHOWED ME] RESPECT BACK…I FOUND YOU HAD TO HAVE A GOOD RAPPORT WITH THE BUSINESS OWNERS BECAUSE THE BUSINESS OWNERS APPRECIATED YOU. IF YOU NEEDED HELP, THEY WERE THERE FOR YOU. IF THEY NEEDED HELP, YOU WERE THERE FOR THEM.” OVERALL, BASTIE ENJOYED HER TIME WORKING AS A PARKING COMMISSIONAIRE. SHE SAID, “WHEN I WORKED THE METERS, I LOVED IT. I ENJOYED WORKING PARKING AND EVERYTHING [THAT] IT INCLUDED…IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER, WOULD I DO IT [AGAIN]? DARN RIGHTS I WOULD.” PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, CITY OF LETHBRIDGE MEDIA RELEASES, AND FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTIONS.

Catalogue Number

P20180016001

Acquisition Date

2018-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail