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Airport Leases Parking Lot To Add Spaces For Holiday Season
By Harry Saltzgaver
Executive Editor
Long Beach Airport is buying — actually, leasing — a parking lot for Christmas.
The present will be for holiday travelers who will be able to find parking throughout the busy holiday travel season. Even with the recession, the airport expects to be at capacity during the period from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2, according to public information officer Sharon Diggs-Jackson.
“We won’t have Express Jet this year, but the other carriers have taken up the slack,” Diggs-Jackson said. “All our commercial slots are full, and we expect that we’ll see the same as last year.”
That total was 111,982 passengers in the month of December, almost 1,000 more passengers than in December 2006. These particular fliers are apt to drive their car to the airport and leave it in a lot rather than take a cab or have someone drop them off, Diggs-Jackson said.
“They are staying a little longer over the holidays” Diggs-Jackson said. “Our parking lots will be full.”
To ease the load, the airport asked the City Council on Tuesday to lease part of the Veterans Memorial Stadium parking lot. About 750 spaces will be available there in addition to the 2,200 spaces the city already leases as Lot D from the Boeing Company.
The Thanksgiving weekend showed a slight increase in demand, with about 3,700 parking spaces used compared to 3,500 spaces in 2007. Officials now are predicting a need for 4,700 to 5,000 parking spaces during the peak holiday period.
The temporary lot will cost the same as Lot D — $11 a day — and are served by the same free shuttles. Lots closer to the airport cost more — up to $17 a day for the parking garage.
The city will pay $2,400 to Long Beach City College for the 12 days of parking privileges, with the money coming from the airport fund. The college is not in session during that period. The city and LBCC will share any net revenue — but the initial fee, security and shuttle service must be paid for first.
Diggs-Jackson said that the Thanksgiving traffic at the airport moved smoothly, with few long lines. Travelers still are urged to arrive 90 minutes before take-off, but to expect a much smoother experience than at LAX or other large airports.
For people picking up travelers at the airport, Diggs-Jackson urged the use of the free “cell phone lot” at the corner of Lakewood Boulevard and Wardlow Road.
“People can wait there until the passengers are at the curb,” Diggs-Jackson said. “That way they don’t have to keep driving round and round. And our officers will be out in force to make sure traffic is moving.
For more information about parking at the airport, go to www.longbeach.gov/airport.
The present will be for holiday travelers who will be able to find parking throughout the busy holiday travel season. Even with the recession, the airport expects to be at capacity during the period from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2, according to public information officer Sharon Diggs-Jackson.
“We won’t have Express Jet this year, but the other carriers have taken up the slack,” Diggs-Jackson said. “All our commercial slots are full, and we expect that we’ll see the same as last year.”
That total was 111,982 passengers in the month of December, almost 1,000 more passengers than in December 2006. These particular fliers are apt to drive their car to the airport and leave it in a lot rather than take a cab or have someone drop them off, Diggs-Jackson said.
“They are staying a little longer over the holidays” Diggs-Jackson said. “Our parking lots will be full.”
To ease the load, the airport asked the City Council on Tuesday to lease part of the Veterans Memorial Stadium parking lot. About 750 spaces will be available there in addition to the 2,200 spaces the city already leases as Lot D from the Boeing Company.
The Thanksgiving weekend showed a slight increase in demand, with about 3,700 parking spaces used compared to 3,500 spaces in 2007. Officials now are predicting a need for 4,700 to 5,000 parking spaces during the peak holiday period.
The temporary lot will cost the same as Lot D — $11 a day — and are served by the same free shuttles. Lots closer to the airport cost more — up to $17 a day for the parking garage.
The city will pay $2,400 to Long Beach City College for the 12 days of parking privileges, with the money coming from the airport fund. The college is not in session during that period. The city and LBCC will share any net revenue — but the initial fee, security and shuttle service must be paid for first.
Diggs-Jackson said that the Thanksgiving traffic at the airport moved smoothly, with few long lines. Travelers still are urged to arrive 90 minutes before take-off, but to expect a much smoother experience than at LAX or other large airports.
For people picking up travelers at the airport, Diggs-Jackson urged the use of the free “cell phone lot” at the corner of Lakewood Boulevard and Wardlow Road.
“People can wait there until the passengers are at the curb,” Diggs-Jackson said. “That way they don’t have to keep driving round and round. And our officers will be out in force to make sure traffic is moving.
For more information about parking at the airport, go to www.longbeach.gov/airport.
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