Huntington's town board approved a measure that is meant to help the turnover of parking spaces in an area notorious for unavailable parking.

The measure raises parking meter fees in Huntington Village from a quarter to $1 an hour. The current two-hour parking limit in will be increased to three hours in some areas and fines for parking violations will go up from $25 to $50.

A town spokesman says a large group of town representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation studied various options to ease the parking problem. They eventually agreed on the price-raising plan. A town board meeting was held Tuesday to discuss the measure.

"The purpose of increasing the on-street parking fees is to make parking more readily available to the patrons of the village shops and restaurants, making it less desirable for village employees and other long-term users parking in those spots," said David Panetta, a Huntington business owner.

Geroge Reisner, another business owner, told the board that the town is in need of a parking garage.

Town Supervisor Frank Patrone says a subcommittee is in talks about a plan to build a parking garage.

Officials say the approved parking measures will be implemented within four to six weeks.