Here’s how many tickets were issued for illegal parking, idling at KCI’s new terminal
Drivers waiting at the arrivals curb at Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal have created problems that have led to long back-ups and delays while picking up passengers at peak times.
While airport police may ticket drivers who illegally park or refuse to move on, they have only done so 146 times since the new terminal opened, according to Joe McBride, a spokesman for KCI.
That’s an average of less than three tickets a day over the 54-day-period from Feb. 28 through April 23.
Illegal parking by drivers waiting inside their vehicles at the curb for their passengers — a practice airport officials call “standing” in their vehicle — is more of an issue than unoccupied vehicles, McBride said.
“If the vehicle is occupied, the traffic control officer or airport police officer asks the driver to move, circle or go to the cell phone lot,” McBride said in an email. “If they do not cooperate, a ticket may be issued.”
Early on, airport officials said they felt that the traffic congestion problems were a learning curve with the new single terminal. They said that they were trying to reason with people waiting at the arrivals curb for passengers and ask them to keep moving. Enforcement could become more stringent if it became a big problem, they said at the time.
Officials also encouraged people to use the cellphone lot at 680 Brasilia Ave., near the Marriott hotel at the airport, to wait for passengers to exit the terminal before heading to pick them up.
With thousands of extra passengers traveling through KCI this week for the NFL Draft, overtime has been approved for airport police and traffic control officers. Staffing has also been adjusted to address flight, rental car and limo bookings, McBride said.
Airport police will also use recruits waiting to go to the academy to assist with traffic control. Airport staff will also help, as well as a private traffic control company that the airport hired shortly after the new terminal opened.
The airport, however, is short-staffed and is doing its best to have traffic control or airport police officers at the arrivals and commercial curbs and cross walks at all times, especially at peak times, he said.
The commercial curb, which includes rental cars, buses, hotel shuttles, limos and ride-share vehicles, is expected to see most of the NFL Draft activity since most of those flying in will not be local residents.
