U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for July 13

WASHINGTON, July 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, JULY 13: PARKING METERS

Profile America -- Tuesday, July 13th.  One of our least favorite inventions first appeared in Oklahoma City this week in 1935.  It's the one that must be fed coins, under threat of either fines or towing.  What else, but the parking meter?  Just as today, local governments were then straining to fund the roads and facilities needed to handle the dramatically increasing number of cars. Parking meters quickly spread to towns and cities across the nation and even created a new kind of job -- the meter reader.  At the same time, pay parking lots and garages began to spring up.  Now a major business, there are more than 16,000 commercial parking facilities in the U.S., which take in more than $7 billion a year in parking fees.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.  

Sources:  www.history.com

2002 Economic Census, NAICS 812930

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau