Boost for Airport Parking

With the 20-20 vision of hindsight, it’s easily seen that it would have been better to construct additional parking when the new John Wayne Airport terminal was completed at the beginning of the 1990s. That was before the county’s bankruptcy put needed parking expansion plans on hold and before it became clear that increased passenger use would leave the parking spots nearest the terminal almost always filled.

The good news is that there is now money in the airport budget to go forward with an additional 2,000 spaces to address the chronic parking shortage. The addition will entail the construction of two more levels above the current facility, at a cost of $27.6 million. On March 18, supervisors approved the project and authorized the soliciting of bids.

Eventually, the construction will provide welcome relief for those who must now circle endlessly in their cars looking for parking spots. The forbearance of airport users is likely to be tested even more during the estimated two years of construction, which will begin in October. There will be a loss of space in the short term and a need to use outlying long-term parking facilities.

The airport is right to be looking for ways to make things a little more bearable for the harried commuter. There are plans to add shuttles from the distant lots, as the need arises.

The handiness of the airfield is one of the incentives to use it rather than traveling to Los Angeles. Any effort that officials can be make toward preserving that quality will be welcome.

Obviously, nerves are going to be tested before completion of the additional parking facilities, scheduled for May 1999. Good humor and some patience will have to be exercised, but this improvement at John Wayne undoubtedly will be worth the effort and the wait.