The classic ‘80s dance hit warns that there’s “no parking on the dance floor,” but, on Thursday, Feb. 28, Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) began a project that, from now until the end of May, will result in no parking in parts of the airport parking deck.
Flyers who expect to leave their cars at PTIA while they’re gone should plan to get to the airport a little earlier because for the next three months there will be fewer choice spots. On Feb. 28, repair work began on Level 3 and Level 4 of the long-term parking garage that serves the airport’s main terminal, and parking spaces on those levels won’t be available. The lower decks – Levels 1 and 2 – will remain open.
PTIA Executive Director Kevin Baker said on Thursday that he doesn’t expect any major problems due to the parking deck renovation, but he added that some travelers will be disappointed to find their regular spots unavailable and he said that loss of convenience could cause some headaches.
“Our regular flyers have the spaces they like,” he said.
Baker said that in the coming months work crews will do a lot to improve the deck’s upper levels. They’ll repair the concrete, enhance the lighting and fix drainage issues.
“That parking deck is about 30 years old,” he said. “There are a lot of issues with some old seals, and rain leaks through and drips on cars.”
Stephanie Freeman, PTIA’s marketing and customer relations manager, said each parking deck level has about 250 parking spaces. She said the work will be conducted in stages with an attempt to keep as much parking open as long as possible. She added that, at times, due to the nature of the job, crews will also need to shut down areas on the decks below the actual repair work.
“We don’t want anything dripping down on anybody’s car,” Freeman said.
According to Freeman, the airport should still have enough parking places for everyone who wants one but those spaces will be further away.
“I don’t think we will be short,” she said of long-term parking overall.
While this shouldn’t be too big of a headache, later in the year PTIA is conducting a major renovation to the road, bridge and plaza surface right in front of the terminal. Since that’s the area where people drop off and pick up passengers, look for some potential snafus once that begins. That large project could present some real challenges at busy travel times.
