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November 8, 2009

City hopes to sell old parking meters on eBay for $40

By Liz McMahan

People can purchase a bit of Muskogee’s past on eBay beginning Monday, said Shirley Simpson, city purchasing director.

The city will be offering about 300 of its old parking meters for sale, with a “Buy It Now” price of $40, Simpson said. Those who want to pick them up locally may do so, avoiding shipping costs.

Simpson said the city will sell its meters with the coin catch unlocked, as the city has only two keys for all its meters.

The city will accept online payments through PayPal, she said.

Several double-headed parking meters also are available and will be listed later, Simpson said.

The parking meters have no markings showing they were taken from Muskogee streets, Simpson said. They all are Duncan brand, which is a well-known brand among parking meter historians.

Parking meters were installed after the meter was invented in the 1930s by Carl C. Magee of Oklahoma City. They remained popular until the construction of shopping malls, which offered free parking.

The Muskogee City Council recently voted for the removal of the city’s last 44 meters. All on-street parking in the downtown area is now monitored by a city employee who uses a chalk mark on the tire to track how long a vehicle has remained parked.

Reach Liz McMahan at 684-2926 or lmcmahan@muskogeephoenix.com.

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