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# I've circled this block four times
- URL: https://www.thefrictionlog.com/06800/
- Published: 2026-10-02T20:04:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-12T15:18:52.000Z
- Description: Filed: the 1930s · Patched · the parking meter
- Author: The Clerk
- Tags: Patched

*I've driven by the bakery so often the baker waved at me.* — Shopper, 1933

Downtown Oklahoma City had a problem: workers parked in front of the stores in the morning and stayed all day, and the shoppers drove in circles. In July 1935 the city put in 175 meters, a nickel an hour, and spaces started turning over. A month later a preacher got the first ticket. He told the judge he'd only gone into a store to get change for the meter. The judge let him go. First parking-meter ticket on record, and the first excuse came with it.

**For now**: many big-city garages can be booked ahead on a parking app, often for less.