Relocated San José Airport “Cell Phone
Waiting Area” to Open Next Week
Popular feature moved to accommodate airport road construction

San José, CA – A replacement “cell phone waiting area” for drivers picking up passengers at Mineta San José International Airport will open by next Wednesday, September 5, on Airport Parkway, east of Highway 87 and west of Technology Drive.

The relocated waiting area will have space for approximately 50 cars to park in specially marked 30-minute curbside parking zones on both the north and south sides of the street, which leads directly into the airport and is closer to the terminals than the previous location.

The free cell phone waiting area provides drivers a safe and convenient place to wait for arriving flights as an alternative to circling the terminals or paying for parking. It also helps reduce traffic congestion in front of the terminals and on roadways, while reducing both auto emissions from traffic making repeated loops and illegal or hazardous parking on access roads.

San José was one of the first airports in the nation to offer a cell phone waiting area when it opened the lot in July 2005 with space for approximately 50 cars at the south end of the terminal loop road.

The original lot will close also on Wednesday, September 5, to make way for construction on the airport’s interim Skyport Connector that will link the terminal loop from the Terminal C baggage claim area to Skyport Drive.

“We looked at many options, but they had significant tradeoffs involving factors such as proximity to the airport, size, cost, stability, and access,” said Steve Wilson, airport project designer for terminal roadways.

“City staff from the Airport and Department of Transportation together found a creative and practical solution to make sure that a replacement is ready before we must close the original lot. All of us know that the convenience of the cell phone waiting area is very important to people using the airport.”

Over the next several days, crews will re-stripe the pavement along Airport Parkway and install new signs to allow short-term parking and indicate that it is the airport’s cell phone waiting area.

Next Tuesday evening, September 4, crews will close the old cell phone lot on the airport terminal loop road, and signs will direct drivers to the relocated cell phone waiting areas on Airport Parkway that will be ready for public use by Wednesday morning.

Construction of the Skyport Connector will block the exit to the existing cell phone lot, thus requiring its closure. The interim road currently is scheduled to be open to traffic by October to allow work to begin on the long-term changes to roadways and parking areas that are part of the overall program to replace and upgrade San José’s airport over the next three years.

Phase 1 of the $1.3 billion airport terminal area improvement program includes renovation and expansion of Terminal A, completion of the new North Concourse, the first half of the new Terminal B and removal of the old Terminal C, improvements for parking and roadways, and a consolidated rental car facility. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

About Mineta San José International Airport
Mineta San José International Airport, an entirely self-supporting enterprise, is owned and operated by the City of San José. SJC served 10.8 million passengers and handled approximately 209 million pounds of air cargo in 2006. SJC has 190 flights a day on 13 domestic and international carriers to 30 nonstop destinations.

-SJC-

1732 N. First Street, Suite 600, San José, CA 95112-4538 24 Hour Media Line: 408.501.7700