Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Talk of the bay

TIA hopes new garage will ease holiday parking crunch

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 17, 2005

Have trouble finding a parking spot at the airport last month? You weren't alone.

Tampa International has struggled for years to find enough room for cars and trucks over the holidays, but this season was a doozy.

At one point on Christmas Day, more than 17,500 vehicles were in airport garages and open-air lots. That was 25 percent more than at the peak time for Christmas 2003 and roughly 2,000 more vehicles than the number of official spaces.

From Dec. 20 through Jan. 4, airport parking was up 20 percent from the previous year, largely because Christmas and New Year's Day fell on Saturdays and more travelers could take advantage of long weekends.

But Tampa International didn't need to turn anyone away. Parking workers helped squeeze some cars into places they're typically not allowed to use and steered others to its overflow lot, a grassy field at the south end of the airport.

Airport officials hope to avoid another holiday parking crunch this year. The first phase of a six-story garage on the airport's remote economy lot should be finished before Thanksgiving. And an expansion is scheduled to be ready by the 2006 holiday season.

[Last modified January 15, 2005, 00:05:06]