On Thursday, the Virgin Islands Port Authority announced that the partial opening of the Cyril E. King Airport’s parking and transportation center will be on April 16, putting to rest questions on the delayed use of the long-anticipated parking garage.
In September, during the monthly Port Authority Board meeting, Director of Engineering Preston Breyer announced the parking garage would be partially open in November, with full use of the facility in April this year. Now, after some delay, Executive Director Carlton Dowe announced that the partial opening will be in April, with full use of the facility occurring before the end of 2024.
The parking facility, which cost approximately $32 million dollars to construct, was funded in part by the Port Authority and the Economic Development Authority. Dowe said that $12 million came from the authority and $20 million from the EDA.
“Part of this twelve million dollars is [from] a fee that the Port Authority has instituted in car rental companies that’s on property.,” said Dowe, who added that the authority would have to expand on the car rental division in the future.
The parking garage will consist of three floors with 311 paid public parking spaces, nine ADA spaces, 177 rental car spaces, and 28 taxi spaces. Floor one, or the ground floor, will have 123 car rental parking spaces, 54 uncovered rental car spaces, 18 covered taxi staging spaces and 10 uncovered taxi loading spaces. The second floor will consist of 146 covered public spaces and eight ADA parking spaces. This floor will also serve as the entrance to the parking garage. The third floor will have 165 uncovered public parking spaces and one ADA space.
Throughout the meeting, Dowe acknowledged the authority has not been receiving much kickback over the fees to use the parking garage, which has remained the same since July 2006. The first 15 minutes of use are free but increase to $4 for 16 minutes to an hour of use, $6 for one to two hours, $8 for two to three hours, $12 for three to four hours, $15 for four to five hours, and $20 for five hours or more. The maximum daily rate, which was once $10, is now capped at $20, which is the same fee for a lost ticket. Monthly parking is $250.
“Even with the increase, the new parking rates at CEKA are between 33 percent-71 percent lower than fees charged by other local parking facilities,” Dowe said.
Though there has not been much pushback over the rates, Dowe acknowledged that the authority needs the cooperation of its employees and the airport’s employees to ensure that the parking system can work efficiently. He alluded to employees and taxi drivers not obeying parking restrictions, not paying fees, and complaining about the transportation system in place for employees and visitors to the airport.
“We’ve got to start to communicate to the people in which we serve. Somehow, people believe they shouldn’t have to walk from no place at the airport. Somehow we believe that we’re supposed to just get in and enter into a vehicle,” said Dowe. “My staff and I, a lot of what we do, we travel, we go to Miami…and in over eight months, the Skyride in Miami ain’t working. You got to walk up some stairs, take an elevator, take a train, and go to the transportation center,” added Dowe, who attempted to paint the picture that users of the airport must remain adaptable to inconvenient systems like in other places.
Also, since March 2015, off-airport ground transportation drivers must register and pay operating fees, trip fees for airport ramp access, and passenger fees. Dowe encouraged taxi and rental companies to conduct business appropriately.
“We want cooperation. We want a smooth transition into what we’re doing,” he said.
Dowe also discouraged people from parking at the Lindbergh Bay Park and Port Authority building parking lot unless doing related business there.
“All airport tenants and employees will continue to be shuttled to the remote lot in Crown Bay until the employee lots at the airport are reopened,” he said. He added that “tenants and airport employees, including VIPA employees, should not park in the parking and transportation center unless they are traveling.” There will be no discount or exemption of fees for employees.
At the airport, curbside drop-off will remain the same. The former pickup area, however, has been demolished to allow the authority to construct a two-lane exit of the airport. The new pickup location is at the front of the new transportation center and has been in effect since Feb. 27.
Additionally, delivery drivers who have to unload must park alongside the terminal’s brick wall near gate 11. The cell phone lot at the entrance to the Port Authority building is available only for persons waiting to pick up travelers.
“We want to be different. We want to make sure that the tourists and people who live here have a good experience,” Dowe said.
The airport, which was constructed to accommodate 300,000 people yearly, now sees up to 750,000 passengers.
“Our bread and butter is paid through tourism,” said Dowe. “We have to do the right thing to continue to grow the product.”
The Port Authority anticipates opening 50 percent of the center on April 16 and hopes to open the entire facility before the end of the year.
For more information on the parking garage, contact Carla Lake, the airport parking lot supervisor, at 340-774-1629.
