Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) was approved by the San Jose City Council to expand its public parking infrastructure. This approval allows SJC to add a minimum of 900 parking spaces to Economy Lot 1, also known as “long-term” parking, located in the northeast area of the Airport. With a record number of passengers traveling through SJC every day, parking is at a premium as spaces continue to fill on a regular basis. This year, the Economy Lot 1 has reached 100 percent capacity 36 times over a three-month period, including the closure of all parking lots for seven consecutive hours over the Columbus Day weekend.
“Our priority is the ease and convenience for our travelers. Adding more public parking to SJC’s inventory will assist in meeting the increased demand for parking onsite while making it more convenient for passengers to get to their flights on time,” said SJC’s Assistant Director Judy Ross.
SJC has been one of the fastest-growing airports in the U.S. over the past four-year period. The Airport has experienced passenger growth of approximately 15 percent year-over-year for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2019.
Furthermore, passenger traffic is forecasted to continue to break records, with more than 15 million passengers served by year-end, compared to 14.3 million passengers served in calendar year 2018. This achievement is due to the growth in airlines, flights and nonstop destinations in response to Silicon Valley travelers’ demands.
Hensel Phelps was awarded the not-to-exceed $30 million design-build contract to add a multi-story garage to Economy Lot 1, which is currently a surface lot. Construction will begin after this year’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period and is estimated to be completed by early-2021.
Approximately 770 spaces in Economy Lot 1 will be impacted and unavailable for parking during construction. To offset this temporary loss of parking, the Airport will provide an additional 900 parking spaces in Lot 2/Terminal A Garage starting November 20, 2019. This will be made possible by relocating SJC partners’ employees to the Airport’s west side parking lot. This is another example of the Airport’s continuous focus on enhancing the passenger experience and their overall convenience.
As the busiest travel season of the year fast approaches, including Veterans Day weekend, travelers are asked to have a parking plan before arriving to SJC. Airport parking lots will likely reach capacity over Veterans Day weekend and during the Thanksgiving holiday.
