A proposal to charge for parking at the Provincetown Municipal Airport didn't fly with Cape Air spokesperson Michelle Haynes.
PROVINCETOWN
A proposal to charge for parking at the Provincetown Municipal Airport didn’t fly with Cape Air spokesperson Michelle Haynes.
"It has come up before;
it is something we’re very concerned about,” she told the finance
committee last week. “Our request to you … is that you look at this very
closely and what this may do to us as a business.”
The problem, Haynes said,
is that the small airline operates at a deficit seven months a year and
faces stiff competition from fast ferries and cars. Free parking is a
perk of landing in Provincetown, she said, adding that 80 percent of the
vehicles parked there sport resident parking permits on their
windshields.
Mike Valenti, chair of
the airport commission, said Monday that the airline relies on — in fact
it needs — 10,000 paid passengers to fly out of Provincetown to receive
about $1 million in federal grants a year. The $95,000 that the town
has budgeted for the airport doesn’t cover big projects required to keep
it up and running, he added. Thus, a dip in passenger numbers could
kill its funding and possibly the airline’s operation here.
Mike Canizales, chair of
the FinCom, said that his committee is looking to “moderately raise”
embarkation rates for everyone and feels that those who can afford to
fly can afford to park.
But, Haynes responded,
there’s got to be perks to flying out of Provincetown because landing in
Logan International Airport is a hassle.
“We are here today [through winter] at six passengers a day,” she said. “We are here year-round. … That’s a major difference.”
And yet FinCom members were adamant that a $5 or $10 parking charge wouldn’t hurt people who can afford to fly.
“You’re getting into a
chunk of money that can help with a lot of priorities,” Canizales said,
and seemed surprised to find that Cape Air rents parking spaces to
Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “So we give you parking for free and you rent it
out?”
Haynes said that she’d
return with relevant financial and passenger numbers. Meanwhile Clarence
Walker, another FinCom member, would like those who park at the airport
for two or three months for free while they vacation in the winter to
pay up. Haynes agreed that something should be done about that.
Story and photo: http://provincetown.wickedlocal.com
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