Parking improvements at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, including a new Cell Phone Waiting Lot, will be completed by the end of the week, weather permitting.
The reconfiguration and restriping of existing economy and employee parking areas have created an additional 100 plus parking spaces at the airport. The Cell Phone lot adds 30 spaces along the Airport Road “slip lane” where people picking up arriving travelers can wait in their vehicles until pick up time. There is no parking in front of the airport terminal.
“We have struggled with a parking shortage at the airport and these improvements should alleviate that problem, at least for the short term,” said Airport Director, John Kinney. Simply by moving some berms, shuffling rental cars around, moving employee parking, re-paving and re-striping we should be able to accommodate our travellers winter and summer for the time being,” Kinney said.
The image depicts expanded parking areas and the new Cell Phone Waiting Lot where traffic will be routed in a circular one-way pattern on the west side of the tree island. Airport Road will continue to be a slip lane onto Highway 82 to the South.
In addition to parking improvements, the secure boarding area inside the airport terminal is being expanded to accommodate more waiting travelers. Administrative offices and the gift shop have been moved to increase capacity. A tented, outdoor overflow baggage area will also be implemented this winter to reduce congestion in the arrivals wing of the terminal building.
The recent long term parking fee change is also expected to curb non-travelers parking in the airport’s economy lots. Parking rates were increased last fall to $2 per hour to park at the airport up to 12 hours with a $40 per day cap.
“We’ll probably really start noticing the difference this ski season,” said Kinney. “People will begin to understand that it costs them significantly more to park at the airport than in downtown Aspen. We hope this greatly reduces the possibility of someone missing their flight because they couldn’t find a place to park,” Kinney said.
MEDIA CONTACT: John Kinney - Airport Director - 970-429-2851