Even if you charge $10/hr, or whatever the market rate would be for street parking spots, you still need an enforcement mechanism to prevent people overstaying.

In general, the idea of a "market rate" for any given property depends fundamentally on a system of property rights actually being enforced.

Market rate is $4.10 per hour during peak hours. But it falls off precipitously per hour and ceases to be enforced around 6pm. For overstays those little white golf cart trucks have cameras that check license plates for permits. I recently got a parking permit for $200 or so after paying like $500 in tickets for various infractions including “Parking on Grades, wheels straight”. So I very much want anyone overstaying a 2hr parking spot to get tickets and or towed to make room. And I can speak from experience having just recently being towed, that the parking downtown is ruthlessly enforced. It will cost you about $700 if you’re towed.

I've always wondered what the market rate for parking would be if you allowed for things other than parking like restaurant tables, a shed, a tiny skyscraper...

Exactly. It's not much of a market if 99% of potential uses of the land are prohibited.

Perhaps the overconsumption is on the businesses that have no parking infrastructure for their customers, relying on street parking instead. What if there was no street parking allowed at all? It’s probably too late to implement this idea, but interesting to think about.

That's more or less how Tokyo works. Almost no on-street parking, people have to prove that they have a parking spot when buying a car, liberal zoning so there are lots of very small pay parking lots around the city. It works really well IMO but it would be politically very difficult in North America.

Even if every business had a 1000 stall parking garage beneath it, curb parking would still be highly valued because it’s more convenient. And since it would be valued more than zero dollars, if the city charges zero dollars for parking, then we’ll still see over consumption and contention for those spots.

I agree 100% though that not having street parking at all is the way to go. My arguments about market pricing is more of a second best option – if the city is going to continue to provide land for this specific use, then we shouldn’t subsidize it or treat as a special case.

The people own the land and as such, deserve to receive it's full value. Charging $0 is stealing from the people to give to car drivers.