What about parking? It’s a question drivers must consider every time they turn the key in the ignition. Cities have struggled with parking issues since the preautomobile era, however, in those days the question was more likely to be: What about my horse?

Parking automobiles proved to be a very difficult challenge for cities, particularly by the 1910 when the number of cars in the United States reached 9 million. Although horses still outnumbered these modern machines, equestrian transport was eventually banned in cities. The curbside locales for horses and buggies were quickly designated for automobiles, and they were quickly filled. In fact, city workers began parking in those spots all day, leaving few parking spaces for shoppers or other patrons of the business district.

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