PARKING METERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 108, 8 May 1937, Page 28

PARKING METERS

THE FIGHT IN AMERICA

SUCCESSFUL COURT ACTIONS

Parking meters are having a stormy passage in America. In the State of Alabama the Supreme Court has held them to be illegal. Action was brought by the owner of. a business property in Birmingham for an injunction to restrain the city from erecting and maintaining parking meters in front of his premises. The Circuit Court held that the city had no • .legal right to place and operate the meters and the case went on apgeal to the Supreme Court, which upheld the decision on

the grounds (1) that the original deed of dedication of'land for streets, to the city of Birmingham specified that those streets were to be devoted to the use of the public ml general and that the conversion of them into what practically amounted to city-operated parking,lots was in contravention of the terms of the original deed; (2) that; property-owners or lease-holders of property adjacent to the streets had certain' inherent rights of ingress and egress and.that.tlie renting of parking space deprived them bf their property rights in" violation of the constitution of the United States; (3) that the constitution of the State did not authorise the city to use its police power for taxing purposes, even though every i.cent so raised, might be used to defray cost of; installation and maintenance, or any other costs incident to traffic. In Paducah,. • Kentucky, parking meters hav6 been ordered out follow- . ing a lower court decision. That; there .is more than the mere question of law, however, is revealed by the following:—. ./ ' , ' In Hermosa Beach, California, the City Council passed a parking meter ordinance which it was forced to rescind almost immediately, due largely to the protests of merchants who declared that business would be driven to other cities. In Salt Lake City 200 meters installed last August, were ordered out by the ..City Council early this year after prolonged controversy over the merits of the plan and contract difficulties with the meter manufacturers. In • West' Haven, Connecticut, meters were taken out'because they failed to meet the parking problem; and- because of the -opposition .of motorists. In Mobile,1 Alabama, meters were removed on demand of motorists and merchants,. who. threatened a protest march; .to the City Hall. '■■,',"■•' '. '. Hutchinsony-Kansas, ran into trouble with the meter plan and had'to-aban-don.it. . ■ Nevertheless the system is operating in many, parts of America, ahd other parts propose adopting it. The; fight, however,: is on', and the issue lies mainly with the courts. Failing the courts the'effect on the, business life-oftne communities will be the most important "factor. •.'■■•" ■ '' • ' ,';" ■Motorists'still■ hold that the system is not a'real attempt to solve'parking problems ;but merely a means of obtaining revenue. More than this, they class it ■'asa? "racket," the;, real promoters and, the people that benefit most, being the people who supply , the meters., . ■ . ■ : v '■.',..■ . ■ -, , WOMAN AND THE CAR Fully persuaded of the importance of the feminine influence in .the purchase of motor-cars, one of the American production companies has repeated this year an innovation it-introduced last .year, "ladies' week" throughout its showrooms in -the whole of, the United States of America. It. is springtime in America, and the displays com-bine-colour in cars with the best that can ; be got from Nature, the efforts of horticulture, and the arts. The firm estimates that women are a factor in nearly 90 per cent, of car sales, and stress is laid on their influence not merely on car design and appearance, but on the increased ease of handling that has been- brought about largely because women prefer a car of this type. With man the chief requisites: are dependableness and comfort, but woman demands more. This is reflected in appearance, both external and internal, and in fittings, equipment, and ease of control. The modern car is a reflex of woman; and it is astonishing on how trivial a detail selection may depend. The design of so simple a thing as an ash tray may defeat the best endeavours of the most ardent of salesmen, and a mascot that appeals may easily prove the-deciding factor. So also may the surroundings where the car is displayed. There is an aesthetic fitness of things that appeals to a woman, and it need be no matter of surprise if woman herself eventually fills the principal role in showroom arrangement.

Meanwhile, in America, it is truly a case of "say it with flowers." .

At the beginning of the year there were, still eleven of the States of U.S.A. that did not require a driver's licence for people operating motor-vehicles. In several legislation was pending.. It is an aim of the Accident Prevention Conference to have a uniform licence throughout the States.