Cleveland Airport short term parking

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Rates at the parking garage and Blue Lot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will increase by $1.50 a day, starting Tuesday.

Short-term parking rates in the garage will rise from $14 to $15.50 a day, and from $10 to $11.50 a day for parking that extends beyond 72 hours. Blue Lot prices will go from $8 to $9.50 a day.

The changes come as the airport is nearing completion of a $24 million overhaul of its parking system, a project that had some questioning the decision to tear down one of the airport's garages after a parking crunch developed on busy travel days.

Parking fees generally are airports' biggest source of non-airline revenue. The pressure on Hopkins parking was eased when the 1, 000-space Orange Lot opened Nov. 18 on the site of the razed long-term garage. Airport officials said the structure was about 40 years old and past its usefulness.

Demolition of the garage initially was supposed to be accompanied by the addition of two floors of parking to the remaining short-term garage, which now handles both short- and long-term parking. But that construction became unnecessary when the city approved having Hopkins spend $56.7 million to buy Airport Fast Park and Park Place, two lots on Snow Road with shuttle service to the terminal about a mile away, airport spokeswoman Jackie Mayo said. Daily rates at the lots are currently $8.

Aside from completing that purchase, the airport's only other immediate parking change will be to add a canopy over the 241-space Red Lot in the "near future, " Mayo said. The Red Lot is the closest surface lot to the terminal, located near Carousel 1 on the baggage-claim level.

Hopkins' parking changes have hit a few snags. Before the Orange Lot opened, the garage was filling to capacity on the heavy business-travel days of Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopkins responded by converting 400 spaces at an employee parking lot on Old Grayton Road to public parking, with shuttle service to the airport. That lot has since reverted to employee parking only, Mayo said.

There also have been a few wrinkles in the "smart parking technology" in the revamped short-term garage. The technology is supposed to alert drivers if spaces are available. But the system wasn't always precise. One customer found no spaces after driving the whole circuit of floors, yet was charged $3 to exit because Hopkins has eliminated half-hour courtesy free parking.

The airport encourages drivers who encounter the same problem to call Hopkins' Ground Transportation Office at 216-898-5161 to get a reimbursement.

"Even with the increase, we still have some of the lowest parking rates compared to other airports across the country, particularly in the Midwest, " Airport Director Ricky Smith said in a statement. "These parking locations are still a great value for passengers traveling through CLE."

A check of several airports showed daily short-term maximum rates of $24 and long-term maximums of $13 at Pittsburgh International Airport. Port Columbus International Airport has short-term maximum rates of $27 a day and long-term maximums of $17 a day. At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, short-term rates can range up to $33 a day and long-term rates vary from $9 to $17 a day.