Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

COVER BAG

Date

2018

Materials

PLASTIC, INK

No. Pieces

1

Height

58.7

Length

45.7

Description

WHITE PLASTIC BAG WITH BLACK TEXT AND BORDER, WITH THE OPENING ACROSS THE BOTTOM. TEXT READS “PAY FOR PARKING AT YELLOW KIOSK” AND “CITY OF LETHBRIDGE” ACCOMPANIED BY THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE SEAL. THE BLACK SQUARE BORDER AROUND THE TEXT MEASURES 1CM WIDE. BAG HAS A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER 2CM FROM THE CORNER OF THE BORDER AND GOES THROUGH BOTH SIDES OF THE BAG; THE HOLE IS RIPPED AT THE EDGES AND MEASURES 1.2CM IN DIAMETER. BAG HAS DIRT ACCRETION AND SOILING ON BOTH SIDES AND SURFACE CREASING. THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE BAG HAS TEXT IN THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER READING “D0218 FRIESEN PLASTIC INC.” THE INSIDE OF THE BAG HAS A BLUE AND WHITE “COVIDIEN” TAB STUCK ON THE REVERSE SIDE. OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

CONTAINER

Historical Association

TRANSPORTATION

History

BEGINNING APRIL 2018, THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE REMOVED ITS EXISTING COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS TO BE REPLACED WITH MULTI-STALL KIOSKS THROUGHOUT ITS DOWNTOWN CORE. THE EXISTING COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS WERE DECOMMISSIONED AND COVERED WITH PLASTIC BAGS TO INDICATE PARKING PAYMENTS WOULD BE PROCESSED AT THE UPDATED KIOSKS. THE COVER BAG DONATED BY THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE WAS USED TO MARK DECOMMISSIONED METERS IN DOWNTOWN LETHBRIDGE, AND WAS DONATED FOLLOWING THE REMOVAL OF ALL COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS IN JUNE 2018. 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.” “I DID ALL THE REPAIRS, ALL THE MAINTENANCE AND ANYTHING, ANY PROGRAMMING OR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED WITH THESE SINGLE SPACE METERS FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. SO ANYTHING FROM RE-BUILDING HOUSINGS, PUTTING THEM TOGETHER FROM DIFFERENT PIECES, TO RE-PROGRAMMING THEM IN 2013 WHEN THE NEW COIN DIMENSIONS CAME OUT. WE HAD TO DO THEM ALL INDIVIDUALLY. AGAIN THESE WERE AT THEIR MAXIMUM CAPABILITIES. THEY HAD BEEN IN PLACE SINCE ABOUT 2000, THE ELECTRONIC PARKING METERS WERE IN PLACE FROM ABOUT 2000 AND WERE WELL PAST THEIR LIFE EXPECTANCY OF ABOUT 5 YEARS. SO, IT WAS TIME TO GO ON AND TRY A NEW TECHNOLOGY. AFTER MANY OPEN HOUSES, THE CITY CITIZENS AND WITH TECHNICAL EXPERTS DECIDED TO TRY IT WITH THE NEW MULTI-SPACE KIOSKS WHICH ALLOWED US A LOT MORE TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS. IT ALLOWED US THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO CLEAN UP THE STREETSCAPE, ELIMINATE THE PARKING METER POLES THAT WERE DILAPIDATED AND BREAKING DOWN AND PUT IN A NEW PARKING SYSTEM.” “THE PROJECT STARTED IN 2013…IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS IN THE MAKING AND IT WAS…ABOUT 2015…WHERE THE DECISION WAS MADE AND IT WAS PASSED THROUGH THAT WE WERE GOING TO CHANGE OUT THE PARKING SYSTEM. THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER OPTIONS. THERE WAS UPDATING IT WITH THE SAME STUFF THAT WE HAVE NOW, UPDATING IT WITH A NEW SINGLE SPACE PARKING TECHNOLOGY OR GOING TO A MULTI-SPACE PARKING KIOSK. WHEN ALL THE FACTORS WERE PUT TOGETHER, THE MULTI-SPACE PARKING KIOSKS WERE THE MOST ECONOMICAL AND ALLOWED FOR THE MOST OPTIONS IN THE FUTURE.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THE SINGLE-STALL, COIN-OPERATED PARKING METERS, BERG RECALLED, “APRIL THIS YEAR IT STARTED. WE STARTED INSTALLING ALL THE KIOSKS ON THE STREET, NOT HAVING THEM OPERATIONAL BUT JUST ENSURING THAT THEY WERE ALL OUT ON THE STREET WHILE STILL ALLOWING THE SINGLE SPACE METERS TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DONE FOR YEARS. AND THEN IN ONE WEEKEND WE CAME IN AND WE COVERED ALL THE SINGLE SPACE METERS. AND THAT WAS THE LAST WEEKEND IN MAY, COVERED ALL THE SINGLE SPACE PARKING METERS [WITH THE PLASTIC COVER BAGS] AND TURNED ON THE BRAND NEW PARKING KIOSKS.” PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20180016001-GA FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, CITY OF LETHBRIDGE MEDIA RELEASES, AND FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS.

Catalogue Number

P20180016002

Acquisition Date

2018-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail