Is this the last stand for Toronto's coin-operated parking meters?

Time appears to have expired for a once-ubiquitous part of the city's streetscape: the coin-operated parking meter.

City staff will likely soon begin collecting the 150 or so single-space meters that remain on city streets, and putting them into permanent storage.

"We all certainly remember putting coins into meters across the city — and also having to run back because you were worried your meter was going to expire," Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie told CBC Toronto.

"We don't need to do that anymore. Now with the new app-based technology you can just top it up on the go ... But of course, I think we will miss seeing them on the street."

On Wednesday, the infrastructure and environment committee, which McKelvie chairs, decided to remove the meters, a decision that goes to council for final approval on Dec. 13.

It's unclear how long the city has used the single-space meter — a report to councillors simply says they've been in use for "decades" — but they've been steadily eclipsed in recent years by newer, solar-powered parking payment units that can register proof of payment for dozens of parking spots at a time, either online or with a paper slip. 

The single-space, coins-only meter has also been rendered obsolete in recent years as fewer people carry change, according to freelance technology analyst Carmi Levy.

"There's nothing sadder than an older technology that still sticks around, but is barely maintained, and that's kind of where parking meters are at,"  Levy said.

"They use change, which almost nobody carries anymore. Everyone, of course, uses their debit card, pays with their phone, and as a result, anything that processes cash, like a parking meter, is also fading."

The staff report also points out that as they've aged, the old-style, often-broken meters are no longer worth the city's trouble to maintain.

"On average, each single-space meter parking stall generates $0.18 per day," the report from Barbara Gray, the city's general manager of transportation, states. "The total revenue generated does not cover the associated operating expenses ... or staff's time to collect revenue from the single-space meters."

The coin-operated meters will remain in place until their parking spaces can be integrated into the newer system, McKelvie said.

She said it's unclear when that will happen but, "We're not expecting that it'll take very long. City staff are ready to remove them, so right now it's just a matter of looking into what the next alternative should be."

The city is about to launch the next generation of parking payment systems, she said. That will allow drivers to park only by using the city's Green P parking app.

"The sad reality of any technology is that as soon as it's released, the clock is already ticking," Levy said.

"No technology lasts forever. There is a window within which it will be the latest and greatest, and then eventually the rest of the world will move on and it'll leave that technology behind."