Airport Parking News

www.Parctel.com: There will be a detour en route to the airport from 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17, through 4 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. All westbound lanes of Airport Way from I-205 to the Mt. Hood Overpass will close during those hours for the installation of an over-the-roadway sign.

The detour will be clearly marked, and will route traffic from I-205 to Airport Way, east to Holman Street, then to Alderwood Road, then to 82nd Avenue, and back to Airport Way.

This change will add a few extra minutes to your trip from I-205 to the terminal, so please plan accordingly. The sign being installed is one of four dynamic messaging signs on Airport Way to advise travelers of parking availability, traffic congestion, air quality advisories, security announcements or emergencies.

www.Parctel.com: Weather permitting, work to finalize road realignments near PDX spans from Monday, Oct. 22, through approximately Sunday, Oct. 28. Workers will keep at least two lanes open daily between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m., and may reduce the roadway to one lane between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Please drive cautiously and watch for directional signage.

You can avoid the construction area by using the economy parking lot, which will have additional shuttle buses during peak hours. Another option for travelers is the Gold Key Valet parking service on the departures roadway.

Roadway realignment is needed to serve a second parking garage now under construction.

www.Parctel.com: This year sees Hillsboro Airport celebrating 72 years as a public-use airport and the 7th Annual Hillsboro Airport Open House takes place on Saturday, October 27 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Hillsboro Airport Terminal – Main Floor, 3355 NE Cornell Rd, Hillsboro.

Take a tour, talk to pilots, get up-close views of working and historical aircraft, and learn how your general aviation airport supports the region’s economy and well-being. This free, open-to-the-public event will feature activities fun for the whole family– face painting, games, snacks, and special prizes for kids in Halloween costumes!

The airport is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, or take Max blue line to the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.

Celebrating 72 years as a public-use airport

Saturday, October 27
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Hillsboro Airport Terminal – Main Floor
3355 NE Cornell Rd, Hillsboro, OR

Take a tour, talk to pilots, get up-close views of working and historical aircraft, and learn how your general aviation airport supports the region’s economy and well-being. This free, open-to-the-public event will feature activities fun for the whole family– face painting, games, snacks, and special prizes for kids in Halloween costumes!

The airport is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, or take Max blue line to the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.

For special needs or for further information, contact Shannon Huggins, Port of Portland Community Affairs, at 503.460.4073.

www.Parctel.com: Over the past few months, Portland Airport Parking have been testing a new addition to the services we provided at PDX. A new parking guidance system in the parking garage is now operating to help motorists find a parking spot faster than ever.

Upon entering the garage and approach on each level, a sign will indicate the exact number of vacant spaces available on the floor. Once on the floor, additional signs and individual space detectors direct the parker to available spaces. An overhead green light will direct the parker to an open parking spot beneath it.

www.Parctel.com: It's a little known fact that PDX is located on a migratory flyway where hundreds of bird species travel every year. This includes hawks, known primarily for extraordinary eyesight and keen sense of awareness.

That's why the Port of Portland's public safety and security department is using the hawk on the cover of a new booklet called the Airport Security Guide. The hawk serves as a symbol for a community watch program for PDX badge holders. The program is called HAWKS, short for Helping Airport Workers Know Security.

The HAWKS program is intended to create a more secure environment for everyone at PDX by enlisting the support of all badge holders as extra “eyes” to observe and report anything that looks suspicious. The guide provides information to help airport workers become an integral part of the airport community’s HAWKS team.

The guide also highlights key badge holder responsibilities and consequences for not upholding these responsibilities.

www.Parctel.com: With increasing numbers of passengers arriving at the airport’s front door, the upper roadway is experiencing more and more congestion. In a move to ease the situation and improve the flow of traffic, airport officials made a change in where commercial vehicles deliver passengers.

Dawn Huddleston, commercial roadway manager with the Port of Portland, said, “You may have noticed a change that took place last month that is helping alleviate a crowded lane at the departure level curbside. All our commercial vehicles – taxis, airport shuttles, limousines, hotel shuttles, buses – are now using the outer lanes on the upper level, much as they do on the lower roadway. It’s made a significant improvement to the traffic flow.”

New Parking, Commercial Vehicle, loading and off loading routes at Portland International

Until last month, commercial vehicles using the upper roadway could use any lane they wished to deliver their passengers. Now, the closest lane to the terminal is for customers’ personal cars – for active loading and unloading only, of course.

www.Parctel.com: Business and leisure travelers will soon have a convenient new way to travel between Portland International Airport and Mexico City.

Effective June 1, Mexicana Airlines adds a new nonstop flight from PDX to Mexico’s largest city and business center. The flight will operate four times a week, departing Portland at 8 a.m., arriving at Mexico City International Airport at 3:15 p.m. The return flight leaves Mexico City at 8:45 p.m. and arrives at PDX at 11:59 p.m.

“This new service will strengthen the existing ties between Mexico and Portland, bringing a huge benefit to the Hispanic residents and those travelers who want to visit and discover other destinations,” said Jorge Goytortua, Mexicana regional vice president of sales and service for the West Coast.

Travelers can also connect in Mexico City to beach destinations and other points in Mexico, as well as Latin America. The new nonstop adds to Mexicana’s existing service connecting PDX and Guadalajara, operating daily at peak times of year.

www.Parctel.com: POrtland PDX have begun a project to make way for parking and roadway expansion that includes the removal of trees along Airport Way. Attractive new landscaping will follow when construction is completed. The new landscaping, a mix of trees, shrubs, grass and mulch made from the existing trees, has been selected and designed to be less attractive to birds. When it's finished more than 3,000 new parking spaces will have been created.

Construction of a new parking garage for close-in, extended-stay parking will begin this summer and will include new Port offices. The project is slated for completion in early 2010. Workers will begin adding an additional lane in each direction on Northeast Airport Way next summer. Special instructions for motorists are planned as needed when roadway realignment work begins.

www.Parctel.com: The Port of Portland Commission recently approved the addition of a new long-term parking garage at PDX. Atop the garage will be the new Port of Portland headquarters facility.

The structure will be built adjacent to the present parking garage at PDX in a portion of the current long-term parking lot. It will have room for an additional 3,000 vehicles and 500 rental car spaces. Offices on the top three floors will house most Port employees who work now at PDX, as well as employees who work in the current headquarters building in downtown Portland.

The garage has been planned for many years, with the need becoming more apparent with each holiday when all airport parking lots fill to near capacity. As planning proceeded on the new garage, it presented an opportunity to examine the cost and operational benefits of building a new headquarters facility and consolidating the staff in one location.

The Port will not use tax money to fund the new facility, and there will be no increase in airport fees.

Construction on the garage begins this summer. During construction, parking in the long-term parking lot may fill up more quickly. Be sure to check the new signs as you approach the airport on Airport Way, or visit the Port of Portland web site to get an up-to-date status report on parking availability.

A portion of the new garage will open in 2008, and it will be fully open in 2009. The Port headquarters will be complete in spring 2010.

www.Parctel.com: Passengers will soon have safer and improved access to the airport's front door. Beginning April 16, commercial vehicles - taxis, airport and hotel shuttles, limousines and buses - will only be allowed to use the outer lanes of the upper level roadway in front of the terminal.

In the past, commercial vehicle drivers arriving at the departure level could use any lane they wished including the lane next to the terminal building. Now, the closest lane to the terminal is for private vehicles - for active loading and unloading only. We hope this improved traffic flow will make it easier for you to drop-off and pick-up family, friends and business associates at PDX.

With another storm looming Sunday, record crowds at the Portland International Jetport, and flight delays increasing across the nation, officials are warning travelers to prepare for busy highways, airports and parking lots.

"We are running at 80 to 90 percent capacity" in the airport parking lots, said Jeff Monroe, Portland's director of transportation.
Monroe said the airport garages will probably fill up this weekend and travelers will be directed to the remote lot.

Although shuttle service is fairly frequent from the remote lot, it can add 20 to 25 minutes to a trip, said Greg Hughes, airport marketing manager. The 2,762 spaces available at the airport and remote lots have never reached capacity, but airport officials are encouraging passengers to avoid parking at the airport if possible.
Record numbers of passengers are flying in and out of Portland's airport this year. In January, 102,331 passengers went through the airport, and in March there were 122,218 passengers. The only reason February failed to set a record was a big snowstorm that shut down Jet Blue and other air traffic for days, Hughes said.

Hughes said the airport will get even busier this summer, when the daily average of roughly 2,465 seats on flights in and out of the airport jumps by 600 to 700 seats. Jet Blue, Northwest Airlines and AirTran Airways will add flights in June.

Source: BETH QUIMBY, Portland Press Herald