Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) will open a two-story parking facility near its Terminal 1 that will add 1,400 spaces.
The Quick Ride Ramp at Terminal 1 will require a quick shuttle ride to the front door but will be priced at $8 less than the per-day cost of Terminal 1 General Parking attached to the airport, says Patrick Hogan, spokesman.
The facility is designed to meet demand for parking there while airport officials further explore cost-effective ways of developing additional permanent parking attached to the terminal.
“To the extent we can manage parking demand with capacity by offering a financial incentive to park at Terminal 2 or the new Quick Ride Ramp at Terminal 1, that makes financial sense for the [Metropolitan] Airports Commission while offering more pricing options for travelers,” he says.
It previously had been an employee ramp for Delta Air Lines. It addresses a problem that occurs several days per year when ramps at Terminal 1 exceed capacity, requiring passengers to drive to Terminal 2 or park off-site, according to a Metropolitan Airports Commission memo.
“Our customers expect ample, convenient parking at all times at their terminal of choice,” according to the memo, written by Bridget Rief, director of airport development and Arlie Johnson, assistant director of MSP operations/landside.
Although the new facility will help in the short term, Hogan acknowledges that MSP officials need to address parking for the long term. Capacity is already an issue and will only continue being more so, he says, as projections indicate traffic will increase to about 50 million people in 2030, up from about 34 million this year.
