Burbank Airport to Increase Parking Fees at Nearest Lots to $24 Daily

Burbank Airport officials on Monday agreed to increase parking fees dramatically at lots convenient to the terminal. Their aim is to encourage more travelers to use remote parking lots and relieve airport parking and traffic congestion.

Maximum daily parking rates will increase Sept. 1 from $5 to $24--more than double the rates charged at other Southern California airports, according to airport officials.

The rate changes, adopted unanimously by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, are designed to make convenient parking more available to motorists seeking to park for only an hour or two. Now, many motorists wishing to drop off or meet travelers, or pick up airline tickets can find parking spaces only in remote areas.

Parking rates in lots closest to the terminal are now 50 cents an hour, with a $5-a-day maximum. Rates at remote lots are $4 daily. Airport officials said long-term travelers who arrive at the airport early in the week frequently fill the most convenient spaces by mid-week, forcing short-term visitors to park far from the terminal or in remote lots.

A traffic study conducted at the airport by Wadell Engineering, San Francisco Bay Area airport traffic specialists, found that 60% of an average 1,600 vehicles at the airport daily are there less than two hours.

Under the new plan, the rate for parking in the most convenient facility, a four-level garage with 400 spaces, will increase to $1 an hour--$24 a day. Long-term parking for 1,700 vehicles in other lots adjacent to the terminal will increase from $5 a day to $8.

The rate for parking at two remote lots, which provide a total of 2,000 spaces, will remain $4 a day, said Dwight Scoville, airport services deputy director. Scoville said the remote lots, near Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue, are now often empty, while there are no parking spaces open at the terminal for short-term visitors. Free shuttle service to the terminal is provided from the remote lots.

Airport officials said rate changes would increase parking revenues by $1.5 million annually, a 40% increase over current revenues of $3.7 million.

By contrast, daily parking rates at other airports range from $2.75 to $5.25 at Ontario, $4 to $10 at John Wayne, $6 to $12 at Long Beach and from $3 to $10 at Los Angeles International.