First came the discount fares at BWI, then the passengers, and then the parking woes.
Scrambling to keep pace with the growth, officials at Baltimore-Washington International Airport have opened new lots and undertaken a $40 million garage expansion during the past three years. By Thanksgiving, BWI will have 60 percent more permanent parking spaces than in 1993 -- or 16,000 compared with 10,000.
But guess what? It may not be enough.
Six months before the 5,600-space garage is scheduled to be finished, BWI officials are reassessing the airport's parking needs, trying to determine just how much additional new short- and long-term parking will be needed.
"The economy's good, fares are low and people are traveling like crazy," said Jay Hierholzer, BWI's associate administrator for marketing and development. "Right now we're in real good shape for parking. But it can't last forever."
During the boom days of 1993 and 1994, the arrival of Southwest Airlines -- and a rush by other carriers to match Southwest's fares -- made BWI the nation's fastest-growing airport. While the annual growth has tapered off considerably, the number of passengers is still moving upward, with more than 13.4 million passengers expected this year.
During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays last year, motorists filled nearly every available parking space at the airport, including 2,000 spaces in makeshift lots. Even during an average week, the Express Service Parking lot frequently fills up, as does the Daily Express lot, which once was used for employee parking.
Airport authorities gradually have been opening spaces in the reconstructed garage, including 400 spaces last week when the annex behind the original garage was completed. Still, motorists unable to find spaces near the terminal have been forced to use the long-term lots. While free shuttle service is available, passengers often complain of long waits between buses.
The two private airport lots in Linthicum, which charge higher daily rates than the state-owned airport lots, are reporting high demand as well. Together, those lots account for 2,500 spaces.
"It's steadily increased," said Ed Schuchman, manager of the Park 'N Go lot, which has operated near BWI for nine years. "We just opened 590 more spaces and we're already filling them by Wednesday. Last Monday was the busiest day in our history."
For the airport, parking is a moneymaker. Since 1990, parking revenue has tripled, going from $12 million to $36 million.
Still, a decision by state officials to build more parking facilities is tricky, largely because of the uncertainty about what will happen in the airline industry.
While BWI officials are anticipating steady passenger growth in coming years, that prediction could be altered by US Airways, which now handles 45 percent of the airport's 32,000 daily passengers.
The airline has been significantly cutting flights at BWI in recent months. And it has threatened to all but eliminate service there if it doesn't obtain the cost concessions it is seeking from its pilots. If US Airways strikes the deal it wants with labor, however, it plans to launch its own discount operation at BWI to compete with Southwest and others. "We don't have a crystal ball," says Hierholzer. "But if the future holds growth, we need to be prepared."
Pub Date: 5/26/97
