Airport parking blackout period doesn’t restrict employees from parking at airport, it means they need to pay to park
One of our values at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport is Operational Efficiency. We aim to be a “reliable gateway for residents and visitors, efficient in service, time, and operations.” At the same time, our mission states the airport works to conserve the high quality of life that exists in the Roaring Fork Valley – both for people who visit and for those who live and work here. It’s with these values in mind that we made a decision to free up parking spaces in our busy parking lots for the traveling public. On December 5, we notified our tenants at the airport whose employees typically park in these spaces about a blackout period of six days over the peak holiday season. Importantly, the blackout period only means employees need to pay for parking, which is typically free for them. It does not restrict employees from parking in our lots.
Here’s why we implemented the blackout period, which we knew would impact employees.
- We have been exceeding the parking capacity in the airport lots, forcing our customers to be without parking.
- We want to encourage employees to choose alternative transportation such as carpooling, parking at the Brush Creek Park and Ride, and using RFTA buses to reduce emissions.
- A portion of the cell phone waiting lot has been reserved over this blackout period for about 30 employee vehicles.
The limited amount of parking available at the airport, especially during peak periods, is putting our customers in a situation where they may miss their flights when there is no available parking when they arrive at the facility. We make attempts to communicate to the community that parking may be limited at the airport and travelers should plan accordingly, but the situation remains. Over Thanksgiving, several customers were unable to find parking due to full parking lots. Desperate to make their flights, they parked along the airport frontage road/cell phone lot, and returned from their trip only to find that their vehicles had been towed. By notifying our tenants several weeks prior to the blackout dates, their employees have time to plan accordingly, a luxury many of our customers do not have.
To find a better long-term resolution to this issue, we are evaluating methods to encourage the use of alternative transportation by airport employees. If we can reduce single passenger cars from taking up space in our parking lots by encouraging staff to carpool or use the bus, that aligns with another one of the airport's values: environmental responsibility.
Dan Bartholomew, airport director at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport