Over 1,000 parking spaces at Atlanta airport to be eliminated soon for new gates (Doraville: credit card, construction)

[LynnHarris1]

"Construction to add five gates to Concourse T at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is slated to begin May 1, eliminating nearly 700 spaces in the airport's North Economy parking lot as part of the process.

More than 350 spaces will eliminated two weeks later at the same parking lot on May 15. Initial construction efforts will mostly consist of preparations to make the site ready to begin the extension process..."

FULL STORY: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/...liminated.html

SOURCE: Atlanta Business Chronicle

[Soccernerd]

They can also just build new new garages I guess. I’m sure a lot of people take Uber and that will lessen the burden.

[WanderingImport]

Mehhh.. they’ll just replace the parking at some point. Gate capacity being added is a good thing.

[Atlwarrior]

Take MARTA.

[cwkimbro]

The parking part is negligible, because they have been planning the changes to the parking to coincide with everything. Parking is actually a huge source of revenue for the airport that is fairly important to their budget.

The real concern I'm seeing is two-fold:
1- The cost of only 5 additional gates is getting much more expensive than would've been expected a decade or two ago. It is outpacing other costs

2- This is being done in part, because of how astronomically expensive it was going to be to build more gates going east from concourse F. There is a huge grading/dirt building cost going further away from the original terminal, not to mention the cost of moving existing facilities.

While we will continue to expand some, I'm a bit concerned the cost each additional future gate is going to be more and more from here on out. The cost per gate expansion cost is worrisome. This is a $66.4 million per gate expansion and is being done here because the original plan was going to be exorbitantly more expensive.

[markjames68]

They need to fix the parking situation with respect to the card readers. One time fairly recently I used my credit card to enter, and the reader wasn’t working on the way out. The employees aren’t empowered to do anything so I was waiting for over 30 minutes while people scurried around to find a supervisor who could figure out a solution.

Since then I always grab the ticket, but the last time I was parking it took 5 minutes because the ticket reader had a problem.

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

Take MARTA.

This is the habit that I've mostly gotten used to for a few years now. Park at Doraville or Lindbergh for much less than airport parking.

Part of this is also based on the experience I had last time I parked at the airport last year; the parking deck was full, and I ended up at the far end of the South Economy lot. After returning on a long-delayed flight home, I got caught in a rainstorm trying to remember where the #%*@ I parked.

[ATLTJL]

MARTA is not a good option for people returning from international destinations.

[David1502]

MARTA is a viable solution for many who live close to stations intown. However, if one values their time versus money spent, it's more logical for some to use Airport Park and Ride. For example, if I use the Perimeter MARTA station, I have to calculate a 15 to 20 minute drive to the station, up to 20 minutes if the train has just left when I arrive, then a 40 minute train ride to the airport. And on my return, I have the same time calculation - All to save $20! It's just not worth it to me. I can drive straight to the Airport in less than 25 minutes (which is less time than most in the Metro area).


Airport Park and Ride is only $10 per day and they pick you up and drop you off at your car (and even help you with your luggage). If I'm not traveling that long, then North Terminal Economy is my choice because then I don't have to wait for the bus to pick me and other passengers up as well as drop them off like I would in Airport Park and Ride.


Uber is for those who are the least price sensitive as I have calculated it will cost me almost $70 round trip to use UBER and I am only 20 miles from the Airport (according to Google Maps). No, I'm not going to use UBER Pool my time is too valuable to risk getting to the airport late. However, if one is making an international flight, UBER is a more attractive option as the cheapest parking for the International Terminal is $14 per day and usually one is traveling for at least seven days internationally, so Uber will be less expensive in that case. (Who wants to take that bus from International back to Domestic after a long trip?)


My concern is that longer term, the Airport will eliminate the $14 a day surface lot parking spaces and replace them all with the more expensive covered deck lots - this will force many to either use Park and Ride or the numerous Parking facilities on Camp Creek Parkway. This project expanding the T gates may be the "canary in the coal mine" of eliminating all of these $14 a day parking spaces.

[SAAN]

Originally Posted by markjames68

They need to fix the parking situation with respect to the card readers. One time fairly recently I used my credit card to enter, and the reader wasn’t working on the way out. The employees aren’t empowered to do anything so I was waiting for over 30 minutes while people scurried around to find a supervisor who could figure out a solution.

Since then I always grab the ticket, but the last time I was parking it took 5 minutes because the ticket reader had a problem.

They wont do anything for you, other than ask you if you are going to pay and then tell you to call/email the manager, who NEVER responds to you, so you just take the L and keeping it moving.