In Boise, Airport Parking Gets Tough

Idaho Business magazine reports that times are still tough for parking at Idaho’s largest city. “No Reprieve in sight for Boise Airport Parking” read the sad headline.

“Maybe you’ve been that guy creeping past the airport parking lot entrance, half-hoping to spot an empty parking space that the red “Full” sign was lying about.

Maybe you were the one clutching the steering wheel while speeding back to the airport shuttle parking lot on Orchard Street, checking the car stereo clock every minute and making a mental calculation: shuttle wait time plus shuttle ride plus baggage check plus security screening, carry the two, subtracted from departure time.

“The city of Boise wanted to build another parking garage at the airport, but hit a legal snag. In the 2006 case Frazier vs. City of Boise, the Idaho Supreme Court denied the city’s request to build a new parking garage at the Boise Airport without approval of a supermajority of voters.

The Idaho Constitution states cities and counties can’t go into debt without a vote except for “ordinary and necessary” expenses. In their majority opinion, the justices determined that the parking garage was not necessary because it was not an emergency – drivers could continue to use the shuttle lot, as they had been doing.