Paid parking, and confusion over where to park and when to park there, are buzz kills as they say for visiting downtown Raleigh. But city officials say a soft economy is the reason the city’s parking decks aren’t getting as much traffic as hoped, so to speak. That’s too easy a rationalization.

The city is looking at a $2 million shortfall in its parking fund. But fortunately, the City Council didn’t bite on an idea to allow commercial signs on the parking decks. First, that wouldn’t be particularly attractive. Second and just as important, the $25,000 revenue such a policy might have generated didn’t make it worth the city’s trouble.

The city, if it’s going to generate retail space and a grocery store and perhaps a movie theater downtown, will simply have to eat some of the expense related to parking. As to the lack of use, Raleigh has not done a very good job making the public aware of what’s available. A little advertising of its own might help.