Airport Expects 2 Weekends of Jammed Parking

If you’re planning to catch a flight out of town this morning, you probably shouldn’t stop to read this story.

You may need the time to hunt for a parking space at the airport.

Parking officials at Lindbergh Field are expecting a big increase in traffic this weekend and next because of the Independence Day holiday, but they aren’t excited about getting the extra business.

In fact, as part of an effort to encourage more people to take alternative means of transportation to the airport, they’ve raised parking fees at Lindbergh Field--effective Sunday.

Although parking patrons face the prospects of traffic jams and higher fees, the airport’s ground traffic coordinator predicted that only a small percentage of travelers will arrive by taxi, shuttle or bus.

“Southern Californians and their automobiles are inextricably wed,” said Gerald Reas, the airport’s director of ground transportation and parking. “As long as it’s humanly possible, people are going to take their own cars.”

For that privilege, they’ll pay a steeper price. The cost of short-term parking at the airport will increase from 50 cents to $1 for the first hour. The cost of long-term parking will increase from $8 to $12 for the first day, Reas said.

The maximum costs for both short- and long-term parking will also increase, from $8 to $12 and from $12 to $18, respectively, Reas said.

Reas estimated that 500,000 people will pass through the airport during the next 10 days, with the heaviest traffic today and July 5-6.

Ray Saucedo, a supervisor for the airport’s traffic police, had his first experience with Fourth of July gridlock two years ago--his fourth day on the job.

“They just stuck me right out there,” Saucedo said. “I learned the hard way.”

His advice for holiday travelers: Call ahead for updated flight information and leave home early.

In another holiday-related traffic development, the express lanes on Interstate 15 will be closed July 4, said Steve Saville, a Caltrans spokesman.

Freeway travelers won’t have to contend with as much construction work on the roads, partly because Caltrans is concerned that its workers might be struck by drunk drivers, Saville said.

“Our highway work is pared back mainly because of safety,” Saville said. “Other than that, it’s business as usual.”