PAY PARKING AT AIRPORT

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28922, 16 June 1959, Page 14

PAY PARKING AT AIRPORT

Automatic Gates And Tickets

Visitors’ car parking at Christchurch airport would all be pay period parking in the near future, the airport manager (Mr A. I. R. Jamieson) said yesterday. Mr Jamieson said that parking would not be permitted on, airport roads and vehicles would be allowed only to stop and set down or pick up passengers near the terminal building. Three parking lots were envisaged, he said.

The principal area would be laid out near the terminal building. It would have accommodation for an estimated 400 cars. There would be an overflow park for 200 vehicles formed on space now used as a car park behind the Tasman Empire Airways’ hangar and a “picnics, holidays and * occasions” ;-bulk park outside, but near to, the airport entrance on ‘ the right hand side of the approach read-

ing. Each park entrance would oe an automatic gate which would open to let a vehicle through only when the driver drew out a time-stamped ticket. When the driver retrieved his car after parking and went to leave the ticket would be stamped again in a time clock and the driver would pay for the time his cat had been on the lot. Mr Jamieson said.

“Charges have not been worked out yet but they will be pretty reasonable. It could oe Is for two hours or something like that,” he said. Mr Jamieson said that the planned arrangement would be superior to, say, metering as there would be a minimum of policing involved. There would, however, be an airport patrol to ensure that vehicles did not park on. roadways illegally. 130 ft Roundabout

Another major reading work that Mr Jamieson said would be put in hand this year would be a gyratory traffic system at the airport entrance. A sum of £4OOO had been allocated for this work, he said. “We need a roundabout —it will be 130 ft in diameter—to ease traffic flow where there will oe five roads converging and especially to slow down cars coming off the 50-miles-an-hour stretch into the 20-mile airport speed area,” he said. The five roads are the two Memorial avenue lanes, the. airport entry road, Drury road and a new road which will be laiu out in a few weeks’ time.

The new road will be specially laid for the United States Air Force and will give direct and exclusive access to the large American air operations area which is being developed.