Meet the world’s loneliest old parking meter in Winters, California. Photo via Atlas Obscura.
Use eTags© to Quickly Complete Your DMV Service. Renewals, Title Transfers and More, All Online!
Winters is a small California town that sits rurally off of the 505 between Vacaville and Dunnigan. A short cut for anyone who wants to shave a little time off their trip or to bypass the traffic in Sacramento, Winters has just over 7,000 locals and a single old parking meter – The loneliest in the world.
Is it such an oddity to find a single parking meter in even a small town?
First appearing April 1 back in 2015, the locals avoided it like the plague. while tourists droped happily dropped in their coins, rejoicing over the fact that they found a parking spot in what is a busy downtown area. Why just one though?
Why is there just one old parking meter in all of this quaint California suburb?
No one seems to be quite sure. Police aren’t too concerned with keeping an eye on it and nobody gets a ticket if they park there and fail to pay. In fact, it did not take the locals long to figure this out and, once they did, their apprehension about it changed. Tourists still drop in their coins and, like many oddities in the world, this old parking meter has amassed a following all its’ own.
Initially, this was probably a test to see if Winters could capitalize on the vast influx of tourists to the downtown area. However, as this old parking meter slips into retirement, the revenue has since been allocated to bolster the city’s annual Fourth-of-July fireworks display.
Will the city add more parking meters in the future?
That too seems to be a mystery though, at the same time, unlikely. Locals have come to adore their little ol’ meter, even voicing concern when it was once removed for repair.
While it might be a lonely existence for this desolate dime deposit, the meter has come to be recognized as much of a part of this community as all other residents.
