Airport Parking Fees
Dear Editor: I’d like to share this email I sent to the State of Alaska, DOT. If anyone else feels strongly about this, you may send your email to dot.ask@alaska.gov with “Sitka Airport Parking” in the subject line. They aren’t doing official public comments on this issue, but an official did say we can comment here at any time.
Dear State of Alaska, DOT: I am writing in response to the recent news that the State DOT has decided that the solution to the parking issue at the Sitka airport is to charge us residents a fee to park, or rather, give the responsibility of creating paid parking to a third party.
With respect to those who’ve spent at least five months coming up with this plan (the City of Sitka’s response to my September email said they are working with you on it), I have to say, this is NOT the best solution, nor a fair one. As a 33-year resident here in Sitka and a frequent flyer, I feel I have valid background to give my thoughts.
For patrons of the airport and the restaurant there has never been an issue with parking until you (the State) started whittling away at our options. The remote overflow lot worked just fine, and was adequate when it allowed 21-day parking. Then someone decided it should only be 14 days, then seven days, and then heck, let’s just block it off and not offer an alternative space (and it has sat empty for two years).
Yes, I’ve heard that that space is required for another purpose, but the State owns a lot of land in the area; surely you could find somewhere else for us. I’ve also read your rationale in the Facebook post that there is a huge problem with abandoned vehicles, and the solution is to create paid parking. First off, I highly doubt that there are so many abandoned vehicles that it is more cost effective overall to have a company employ people to manage paid parking than to just tow the vehicles and charge the vehicle owner. You are putting the cost onto us resident patrons for those few people who may abandon their vehicle there. Which leads to another point.
You claim that it costs you to ticket illegal parking, when it’s you who are actually creating the “illegal” parking by not providing enough space for us to park. If you provide enough space for overnight parking, then we wouldn’t be forced to park in the day parking rows when we arrive at the airport for a 6 a.m. flight only to find the overnight rows are full. What do you expect us to do? Many people fly frequently on business and cannot call on friends to drop us off at 4 a.m., and taxi service is spotty and unreliable. You’ve been creating the illegal parking situation ever since you cut the overflow lot down from 21 days to zero.
There is a simple solution, and it doesn’t put the burden of paid parking onto us residents. All we need is the space to park, and no ridiculous seven-day limit. We do not need to be “managed” to park. If by chance there’s a rare abandoned vehicle, then tow it and charge the owner, or just suck up the $200 or whatever it is. It is very unfair to burden US with parking fees to cover the occasional abandoned vehicle.
One more point: Just because others are doing it, doesn’t mean we should. You state that Petersburg recently went to third party managed parking (paid parking). You claim it’s working well. But is it? Maybe for you, but do the residents really like having to pay now? Small towns like us do not need to emulate large cities. We really don’t have that size of an issue with so few residents!
And one more thing. I hope your plan won’t result in the demise of the Nugget Restaurant.
I thank you for reading this, and sincerely hope you will take it into serious consideration.
Helen Raschick, Sitka
