We're at the airport at Midland, Texas, getting some photos of the parking situation. There's a new parking lot under construction which should help if airport traffic doesn't increase.
My most recent experience with airport parking occurred Saturday around 1:00pm. Like any compliant citizen I sought to arrive one hour prior to flight time. But the parking lot was about 110% full. Every legal spot was occupied, and most of the areas marked with yellow stripes had vehicles sitting on them, too.
I lucked out. A fellow on foot spotted me and pointed toward his car. He backed out, and I pulled in. Whew!
Today, Tuesday, is a whole different picture with the lot only 80% to 90% full. A newly constructed lot is expected to open in a few weeks, according to the morning paper. And that should bring some relief to any other hapless traveler who arrives at just the wrong time, like I did Saturday.
Actually, the city has made a half axed effort to help out. There are signs pointing to overflow parking.
But once there it's hard to figure out where the overflow parking is. There certainly are a lot of no-parking signs. For example:
Man, living in a first world country is no walk in the park.
One more thing. As noted above, the morning paper contained an article about the new parking lot, and here's a telling bit about how government thinks about parking fees:
Because parking is the greatest revenue source for the airport, the proposed rates are meant to pay off the construction cost of the new lot in three to four years.
But after the new lot is paid off, parking rates will not revert to the current rates. Esterly said the revenue also will cover other cost increases.
Airport parking is the money maker for the airport. Maybe concessions to the airlines to get them to fly here offsets any gate rental fee. And there's the government truism about taxes and fees: What goes up, stays up.