The Hill Rag outlines neighborhood complaints about the performance parking pilot implemented in March. The biggest objectors are businesses, mostly bars and restaurants, on Pennsylvania Avenue, who claim a drop in patronage. There’s no data, though, and “according to Wells, the Capitol Lounge and Marty’s on Barracks Row report no change in business level.”

But there are as many positive impacts as negative ones. The Hill Rag reports that Wells’ staff have found the regulations very beneficial to people running short errands at banks, cleaners, or drug stores. And in Eastern Market, the parking rules have made it easier for visitors to park while raising revenue at the same time.

The reporter checked with Donald Shoup, the UCLA professor who blazed the trail of performance parking policy. “Shoup was both surprised and disappointed and indicated that the plan as adopted by the City Council was ‘not what I recommended.’” For the businesses, Shoup says, Wells can win them over as similar parking plans did in cities like Pasadena. The key is to ensure that the revenue from parking near the businesses directly benefits the businesses through improved streetscapes—in Pasadena, the BID directly received the money. Here, it goes to DDOT, which may be too indirect for the merchants to directly feel the benefits commensurate with the costs.

The other problem with the pilot is residents who can’t host parties. Rather than installing multi-space meters on residential side streets, the pilot simply converted them to resident-only spaces with a two hour limit at night as well as during the day. Currently, most DC residential streets allow visitors for two hours until some hour in the evening, usually 6:30 or 8:30 pm.

Simply forbidding parking over two hours isn’t really Shoupism; what we really ought to do is allow people to park for as long as they like, but for a fee. Then, guests at dinner parties can be assured of a space to park, just not a free space. DC didn’t do this because multi-space meters are expensive and hard to come by. We can solve this problem with technology allowing people to pay by phone instead of having to use a multi-space meter. The signs will simply list a phone number, and perhaps also direct phoneless residents to a multi-space meter a block or two away.

Instead, DC is going to relieve this problem by allowing residents unlimited free guest passes. It’ll be impossible to ensure these are really for parties rather than baseball games. As the Hill Rag wrote, “What struck me as I listened to complaints was how many of my ‘close friends’ and neighbors have entertained over the past decades as often as they say they have without ever having invited me to one single dinner. Too often in the midst of these complaints to me I have seen the light go on, followed by an awkward pause and the subject is quickly changed.”

This is a similar situation to that which led to guest parking passes in Ward 4 and elsewhere: housecleaners or home health care workers can’t park for more than two hours, so we give an exemption from the rules. Instead, we should let anyone buy more time. It’s silly to say that you can park free for 2 hours but not longer no matter what.

Tweaking parking rules this way and that won’t solve the problem. Let’s try real Shoupism. I suggest we bring it to Dupont Circle, where parking is extremely scarce evenings and weekends due to the many restaurants and other businesses in the area. That’s bad for business because it’s so tough to park. In fact, two frat-boyish Maryland students in a big SUV with an Obama sticker (ironic) practically ran me off the road yesterday trying to grab a parking space I was about to enter.

Free parking is a recipe for road rage. Instead, let’s have non-residents pay a reasonable amount for parking. Some people will ride the bus or Metro instead of driving, there will be more spaces for everyone else, and we’ll make money that can benefit the neighborhood. Shoup’s ideas have worked elsewhere—we just have to try them.