Cedar Rapids Airport to raise daily parking rate

When the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission in May 2012 raised the daily rate to $9 per day for short-term parking at The Eastern Iowa Airport, it was hoped that more travelers would use the long-term lot for extended periods.

That strategy failed and the short-term lot has continued to fill up, forcing many people picking up arriving travelers to park some distance from the terminal in long-term parking. The short-term parking lot is located closer to the passenger terminal.

On Monday, the commission voted to raise the daily short-term parking rate to $11 per day, again hoping to encourage parking in the long-term lot for those planning to leave their vehicles for an extended period of travel.

Donald Swanson, airport director of finance and administration, told the commission that the additional $2 per day is projected to generate annual revenue of $260,000. The daily short-term parking rate will still be $4 less than charged at the Quad City International Airport in Moline, Ill.

Swanson said capital projects in fiscal 2016 include $1 million of pavement work at the airport's joint-use rental car facility, $700,000 for parking improvements at the east end of the terminal building where shuttle and taxicab parking is located, and $700,000 to reconstruct the western section of the short-term parking lot.

Swanson said customer facility charge revenue paid by rental car customers and cash reserves will be used to pay for the parking improvements.

In the fall of 2011, Foth Infrastructure & Environment of Cedar Rapids was hired to study the condition of the parking lots. The findings formed the basis for a five-year, $10.7 million plan to repair and preserve the infrastructure.

The project will involve reconstruction, rehabilitation and preventive maintenance.