New lot eases airport parking crush

By Brian Eckhouse

Monday, Feb. 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Much of the parking crush at McCarran International Airport has subsided — and not necessarily because airlines, particularly US Airways, have cut flights here. A new 5,100-space economy lot has eased demand after opening just before Thanksgiving at an old rental car site at Kitty Hawk Way and Paradise Road.

Construction of Terminal Three prompted airport officials to sacrifice their previous 4,100-space economy lot. To help deal with the loss of parking before a new economy lot was ready, the airport opened a small remote lot on Gilespie Street, near Warm Springs Road.

In the months before the new economy lot opened, vehicles sometimes spilled into a free overflow lot across from the Thomas & Mack Center, which on some holidays reached its 1,150-space capacity.

The new economy lot reached capacity during the heavily traveled Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, with more than 1,000 vehicles directed to the remote lot on Gilespie.

After the holiday rush, the airport closed the Gilespie lot, though it will be used again when demand requires it, airport spokesman Chris Jones said.

An alternative to the McCarran lots — a blacktop lot operated by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada at Gilespie and Sunset Road — remains one of the best values in the valley.

The 250-spot RTC lot, which is free, can fill up during busy holiday weekends. A one-way bus ride to and from McCarran costs $1.75, but beware: RTC tweaked its routes last month.

Route 109 has splintered into 109A and 109B, with only 109A going to McCarran. One other warning: If you’re at the airport, make sure the 109A bus is heading south to the RTC lot. Otherwise, you’ll spend an hour and a half looping much of the valley, as this writer experienced last month.

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Reaching McCarran’s gates is far easier today than a year ago — and again, not entirely because of flight cutbacks.

A dozen new security lanes to the C concourse, home of most Southwest Airlines flights, have quickened access to the C and D concourses. Previously, the concourses split a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

That’s not all. If security lines at the A/B checkpoint are long, travelers can opt for the checkpoint to C — an escalator ride up from the Southwest ticketing counter — and then proceed through a new bridge connecting those concourses. (The bridge terminates across from the Fox Sports Sky Box bar).

The pedestrian bridge opened in mid-December — more than one year behind schedule, and about $10.6 million over its $65 million budget, officials said.

Randall Walker, Clark County’s aviation director, has blamed “fairly significant” design flaws and a dawdling construction process for the delays and cost overruns.

Airport administrators say the bridge improves flexibility at the airport, especially for some travelers here on layovers. Before the bridge opened, travelers who arrived in the C concourse but had connecting flights out of B — and vice versa — often had to enter the other concourse through a security checkpoint.

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Some stimulus dollars could be spent on new electronic message signs for U.S. 95 from the southern beltway to Charleston Boulevard. Such signs on Interstate 15 alert drivers to the estimated time it takes to reach certain interchanges, including the Spaghetti Bowl.

Nevada has an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion backlog in road-related projects, of which about $1.5 billion could be “shovel ready” within six months. So why are the message signs a priority?

State transportation officials say they offer drivers a choice — for example, stay on a jammed freeway or find an alternative, which they think would improve safety.