At last week's police committee meeting, in response to numerous complaints from tourists and local people alike, Cooperstown mayor Wendell Tripp proposed eliminating two-hour parking on both Main and Pioneer streets.

"You can't put 1,000 cars in 400 spaces," said Tripp, quoting former mayor Harold Hollis, adding there were just too many cars and too few spaces.

The problem is, eliminating two hour parking does nothing to relieve the parking problem itself. The spaces are still going to fill up very early in the morning, and frustrated locals and tourists alike will be driving around town looking in vain for a place to park.

Village trustee Stu Taugher did not like the idea of eliminating two hour parking during the summer months, but said he was willing to consider a ban from October through April.

More interesting to people who work downtown or in the village offices was the mayor's proposal of possibly instituting permit parking on Lake St. and a portion of the Doubleday Field lot.

There was some concern raised at the village board meeting about the legality of permit parking in a public lot like Doubleday, but if it is legal, we think it is a good idea.

The second step for village officials should be to encourage tourists to take advantage of the trolley system, maybe with a sign on Rt. 28 saying "No parking in village, use the trolley here." Officals should then look into sprucing up the trolley lot on Linden Ave. to make it a more appealing place to leave your car for the day.

The idea of a welcome center, or visitor center, on the south edge of the village where tourists could be funneled off Route 28 has been suggested before and to us remains one of the best ideas we've heard.

Such a center would, particularly if it is done in concert with the Hall of Fame, be attractive to most visitors and would help encourage them to park there and take a trolley into the village.

It is an idea that warrants more discussion.

But, when all is said and done, whether there is a solution or not, Taugher has a different spin.

The parking problem, to him, is an indication there is brisk business being done on Main Street.

So, not having a parking problem would be a real problem.

Merry Christmas!