Parking Meter Payboxes Receiving Facelifts

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 28, 2011 8:40PM

Friend of Chicagoist The Expired Meter informs us those boxy, unseemly parking meter payboxes we'll be cursing to our graves are having a little bit of cosmetic work done.

Take a look at the photo in our post and compare it to the photo Mike from The Expired Meter took showing. The difference is striking. Now it's easier to see where insert the coins, the credit cards and your soul. The hours the meters need to be fed, how much it costs for an hour and the reminder that it's enforced daily are clear to the naked eye. It's amazing what a little bit of Kelly green can do, but we shouldn't be surprised. This is, after all, Chicago.

Chicago Parking Meters is soliciting your input on the makeovers. Maybe we can see fareboxes decked out in Cubbie Blue near Wrigley Field; simple Black and white in Bridgeport; red, black and white near the United Center; Puerto Rican flag colors in Humboldt Park and maroon in Hyde Park. If we're gonna be stuck with these fareboxes for the next 75 years, why not tailor them to the neighborhoods

Still can't lock a bike to the fareboxes, however.