John Kelly: Complaints about D.C.'s two-hour parking limit

I do not for one minute think that all Americans are guaranteed a parking space. The pursuit of a parking space, yes -- along with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- but a meter with some time on it right in front of your destination? No.

And yet I empathize with those readers who wrote me after my column a while back lamenting the increase in the District's parking fee and, more important, the lengthening amount of time motorists are required to pay it.

Thomas Clay of Accokeek was typical. He and his wife enjoy attending evening lectures sponsored by the Smithsonian. In the past, they've driven to 12th Street and Independence Avenue SW, waited till 6:30 p.m., parked, then gone into the S. Dillon Ripley Center, emerging around 8:45 when the event was over.

Now they have to leave lectures early, fearful of getting a ticket for overstaying a two-hour limit that goes until 10 p.m. They don't mind taking the Metro during the day -- they park at Anacostia and ride to L'Enfant Plaza or Smithsonian -- but as two senior citizens, they don't feel safe doing that at night.

"We have no objection to carrying more quarters and paying for three or four hours," wrote Clay, a retired Episcopal pastor. "It is just the two-hour limit that is causing the problem. There are no other attractions -- restaurants, theaters, etc. -- that would make parking on Independence much sought after past 6:30. The parking spaces are deserted by 9."

Meanwhile, over in Adams Morgan, business owners are also upset by the time limit, said Kristen Barden of the neighborhood's Business Improvement District. A long, leisurely lunch? A labor-intensive trip to the hairdresser to get your tips frosted? There might not be time.

With D.C. Council member Jim Graham's help, Barden negotiated a deal with the Colonial Parking garage on 18th Street NW. Before 5 p.m. you can park there for four hours for $6, provided you have your parking ticket validated by an Adams Morgan merchant. "But you don't have to buy anything," Barden said. "You just have to walk in, hand them the parking ticket from the garage, and they'll put a sticker on it."

The folks at the District Department of Transportation seem to realize there's a problem. "We got a lot of feedback from businesses when we extended the hours into the evening," said DDOT spokesman John Lisle. "It's not a complaint that people have to pay at night, it's exactly what you said: What if I want to go to a movie or park for more than two hours?"

Lisle said they're looking into extending evening parking hours in some D.C. neighborhoods. "It comes down to, in some places anyway: Can we make the meters two hours for part of the day, four hours for others? And what should the signs say?"

Another issue: Who carries 16 quarters? We need more meters that accept credit cards. That includes those multispace meters and new solar-powered meters that DDOT is testing at five locations around the city.

As for the cost of D.C. parking, Lisle thinks it's pretty fair. "A lot of cities, they're already at $3 or $4 an hour. So $2 is . . . well, it's obviously a jump from where we were before, but in some places, it's still below what the market kind of calls for."

Ah, the market. The price of parking must be the purest real-world example of the laws of supply and demand -- with location, location, location thrown in. Just look at the "early bird" specials offered at parking garages around town. In some neighborhoods, arrive by 9:30 or 10 a.m. and it's 10 bucks. In others, it's 20 bucks.

I think there's a Nobel Prize in Economics awaiting whoever can come up with the equation that accurately factors the interplay of office occupancy, cultural attractions, desirable eateries and distance from public transportation to arrive at parking rates.

Be afraid

My former colleague Elizabeth Terry made me aware of a disturbing development on the yeast extract front: The makers of Marmite, the disgusting English condiment, have come out with a new, super-concentrated version. Called Marmite XO -- for "extra old" -- it is aged four times as long as normal Marmite and is said to be four times as strong. The name and classy label allegedly call to mind a fine port wine, though I'm sure the taste calls to mind the Odor Eaters of a grave-digging dipsomaniac.

If ever there was a time to slap a trade tariff on a foreign product, it's now.

Chew the figurative fat with me during my online chat, Friday at noon. Go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/discussions.