Massport approves $20 million partial funding budget for additional parking spaces at Boston Logan International Airport

BOSTON, 2014-5-16 — /Travel PR News/ — The Massachusetts Port Authority Board today approved a partial project budget of $20 million to fund work on adding up to 2,050 parking spaces at Boston Logan International Airport.

Logan parking is limited. And even with 16,200 lined spaces available each day there are more than 50 times a year when demand for parking exceeds the number of lined spaces available. In the last 12 months, more than 70,000 cars were either valeted or diverted to a different lot than the one the customer wanted. Massport will start construction later this year on additions to the Central and Terminal B garages that will add 2050 spaces to Logan’s permitted inventory and will cost an estimated $60 million. The added spaces will be completed in 2015 and 2016.

The additions to the Central and Terminal B garages, located in the center of the airport campus, will reduce the need for a complimentary valet system that has been in place for four years to deal with excess cars. Costs associated with the garages and their debt service rose about $2.5 million last year and are expected to be higher this year as Massport leases space for parking in Suffolk Downs when all airport parking is full.

Managing the number of airport passengers and employees who drive to the airport is critical, especially when the number of Logan passengers grow each year. In 2013, Logan set a passenger record with 30.2 million.Passenger counts for the first three months of 2014 are ahead of the first quarter of 2013 by 2.2 percent.

Funding for the project will come from parking increases approved by the Board in April. The July 1, 2014 increase of $2 per day and $3 in 2016 will help keep pace with costs associated with operating, maintaining and improving the parking facilities at Logan. Parkers at Logan are offered free services such as jump starts, removing snow from vehicles, assistance locating their cars, and improved lighting in the Terminal B garage.

Rates at the four suburban Logan Express sites remain unchanged at $7 a day, providing travelers with another choice. Last month, Massport last month began regular bus service from the Back Bay to Logan for $5 per trip or free with a valid MBTA pass.

About Boston Logan International Airport:
Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 76 domestic and 36 international destinations and in 2013 handled 30.2 million passengers. Boston Logan is served by two public transit lines and is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility.  The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.

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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities.  For more information please visit massport.com.