PARKING LOTS

Research in Progress

PARKING LOTS. The issue of parking lots was quickly tied to the use of PARKING METERS. According to an editorial in the Telegraph-Herald of January 23, 1949, meters installed in April, 1947 took in nearly $39,000 the first year. The total taken in by the middle of January, 1949 was nearly $87,000. Part of the income was to go to payments for the meters and operating expenses. By legislative act, according to the editorial, meter money could be used to purchase property for off-street parking lots. The retail bureau had made the suggestion that meter monies be "officially pledged for the sole purpose of acquiring and improving off-street parking lots with the final goal being free parking areas." (1)

By 1949 discussions over whether a person should occupy a space all day by simply "plugging the meter over and over again were again linked to the issue of whether the city had failed to provide parking lots--off street parking. It was proposed in June, 1949 that a two-storied parking lot on Robinson Street behind stores on Eighth Avenue would handle about four hundred cars. Edwin B. LYONS suggested that at least eight hundred cars had to be taken off the streets and that parking meter funds could be used to parking lot construction. (2)

It was the position of the Telegraph-Herald editorial board in 1950 that meters and adequate off-street parking projects should have been planned to go together. (3)

The development of parking lots had been one of two priorities of Richard Holcomb, a member of the University of Iowa Department of Public Affairs. Holcomb had been hired to suggest ways of solving traffic problems in Dubuque. His first suggestion had been to establish a police traffic division. His second suggestion was a group of ground level, off street parking lots rather than a large city operated parking garage which would be centrally located. Such a series of lots would be preferred due to Dubuque's long, narrow business district. John KINTZINGER, the city solicitor, pointed out that prior city councils had not approved of the use of bonds which made non-motorists pay for facilities they did not use. Legal authorities on municipal bonds had refused to endorse their use with only meter income backing. The legality of meters had never been established by the courts and there was no guarantee that meters might not be "voted off the streets" by future city councils. (4)

---

Source:

1. "Dubuque Parking Lots," Telegraph-Herald (editorial), January 23, 1949, p. 22

2. "Parking Lots Urged at Forum," Telegraph-Herald, June 10, 1949, p. 7

3. "Where Do We Park?," Telegraph-Herald (editorial), November 26, 1950, p. 8

4. "UI Expert Urges Police Traffic," Telegraph-Herald, April 25, 1950, p. 3