Next time you squeeze into a parking space in Dupont Circle, your strategic efforts might be worth $20—to the D.C. Treasurer. Last week, car owners parked on Johnson Avenue NW received pink slips from a patrolling cop for parking within 3 feet of another vehicle. Steve Bible and friend Kevin parallel-parked a little too close together for the officer’s comfort; Kevin received a ticket, but Bible did not. And Bible’s not telling who pulled in last. “They say that they can tell, and that they use their judgment,” says Bible, who asked an officer sitting in a nearby patrol car about the ticket. “I think it’s a crock. There’s no way they can tell.” Department of Public Works officials confirm that the 3-feet regulation is on the books, but say that parking enforcement officers on the streets rarely enforce it. “There are a lot of obscure laws on the books,” says police spokesperson Kenny Bryson. “It’s up to the individual officers to enforce them.” —Elissa Silverman