Parking Meters Go High Tech

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Parking Meters Go High Tech

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Actually, Calgary isn't even calling them meters any more.  They're "parking machines".  The city has applied for a world patent on their new solar-powered parking machines, 200 of which will be installed in the downtown area by the end of this year. 

Parkers can pay through credit cards or cellphones.  The system uses license plate numbers which are punched in on a keypad and then monitored by hybrid SUVs with six cameras that drive along the streets scanning the machines for overtime parking.  Tickets are sent through the mail.  Quick, clean, easy and hard to dispute.  The parking people have even been contacted by other cities, such as Washington, DC and Los Angeles regarding a possible licensing arrangement.