Parking has always been an issue in Nyack, from the heyday of the old Tappan Zee Playhouse, to the peak of the antique trade to the influx of restaurants.

The village has always been a draw, no matter the era and no matter the attraction.

Over the decades, there has always been one more parking problem than there are solutions.

There have been different approaches, different rates and different studies of the problem.

As contentious as parking has been, the village has now found a new way to kick the tension up a notch  — bumping the fee to 75 cents per hour to try to cut into Nyack’s budget deficit.

So far, it’s not a very popular idea. Shoppers were mixed when reporter Ben Rubin  told them about the plan,  which would go into effect in June if enacted by the Village Board.  Merchants and workers in the village  were a little more concerned, fearing that  shoppers will  eventually rebel at paying more.

Bumping up the fines for overtime, overnight and handicapped parking violations sounds like a better idea, even to me.

Shortly after the new system went into operation, I spent 20 or 30 minutes pulling into and then out  of spaces that looked good at first, only to turn out inappropriate.

How I didn’t get a ticket still eludes me.

That aside, raising money by raising parking rates — while posing some threat to the free flow of customers downtown — sound like a better Idea than slashing away at beneficial programs atr the Nyack Center and elsewhere.

The center is an anchor downtown and programs there are valuable to residents of all ages.

At the very least, bumping the parking rate by 25 cents can give Nyack a start on plugging its cash gap.

Even if it isn’t enough to mend a broken budget, maybe it can keep the village on its feet to find other solutions.