b'PARKINGORF 33The ability to flex pricing and offer discounts for early bookingsThe half that remains unimproved will be used for contractor or off-peak periods allows passengers to secure great deals whileparking. As our footprint grows, we have less availability for that, the airport optimizes asset utilization, Daring says. Ultimately, theSumner comments. So, weve been looking for alternatives of stress-free experience of a reservation system fosters passengerhow we can set ourselves up for success in future projects.satisfaction and reinforces a positive perception of the airport.Challenges and OpportunitiesCongestion Relief The various parking improvement projects required careful planning ORFs new $2 million Park and Wait Lot, which fully opened onto meet growing customer needs while minimizing disruptions. Airport Dec. 19, 2024, aims to ease curbside congestion during peakmanagement fast-tracked the Park and Wait Lot with simultaneous arrival times. Previously, the cellphone lot was farther from thedesign and construction to meet various deadlines, including the terminal, so drivers would often loop around the airport waiting forneed to accommodate the long-eared bat migration. Despite labor arriving passengers instead of using the cellphone lot. Strategicallyshortages and contractor scheduling challenges, the project team located just a few hundred feet from Baggage Claim, the newmanaged to finish in time for the busy holiday travel period.Park and Wait Lot undoubtedly offers drivers a more convenientConstruction of the new Garage D was difficult because of its option. That said, refinements are still in the works. ORF plans tolocation and constrained nature of the project site, but Sutherland educate passengers to wait until collecting luggage before textingreports that those hurdles were cleared, too. To me, it just or calling their drivers. Its that close, that fast, Sutherland raves.went brilliantly, she remarks. When you really look at the space Were going to have to figure out creative ways to try to delay thatconstraints and the area that it had to be dropped inright up notification until they get their luggage, because it is literally 30against the terminal, right up against our main exit plazathe seconds from that text to where you meet them, which is amazing. challenges that presented themselves were Situated along the main path drivers take to pick upcertainly understandable.passengers, the new lot includes 80 spaces and was designedNaturally, safety was a focus for the with intuitive entrance and exit points. Its in the natural flowcontractor, Hourigan. Bart Dexter, vice of where you go to pick up your arriving passenger, says ORFpresident of the companys Hampton Roads executive Perryman.Business Unit, notes that the constant Site preparations for the new Park and Wait Lot weremovement of people and vehicles required complicated by local wildlife. Crews had to time the clearing ofspecial vigilance. We needed to make sureBART DEXTERtrees to avoid disrupting long-eared bats that nest in the area. The team completed that work in three to four weeks, finishing by April 15, 2024, to protect the bats during migration and comply with state regulations. In addition to clearing trees for the project site, crews also removed aging trees prone to lightning strikes. It was opportune timing to clear the trees because [they] couldASHLEY SUMNERhave become a safety concern or hazard, notes Ashley Sumner, project manager overseeing ORFs Capital Improvement Program. Pavement WorkA $650,000 project to resurface the long-term East Lot, completed in October 2024, improved one of the airports oldest and most frequently used surface lots. Responding to years of complaints about its condition, ORF improved the 900-space lot by milling, resurfacing half of the pavement and restriping to improve safety. AirportImprovement.comJanuary | February 2025'