RANT! Downsizing at the Denver Airport

jage · 06-12-2009, 06:49 PM

Short-Term parking was 9' 6" and is still marked as such. My SMB and F250 are both 94", so parking was never a problem, and folding guests into the back of the Jeep is just not nice.

We just got back from picking up my Mother-in-Law and as we pulled in I noted that the height hadn't changed (I was going to tease my niece about whether the truck would fit) and parked as normal, noting however that the short term exit booth had been removed and Jersey barriers had been put in the old exit.

When we exited the airport there were a half dozen parking attendants hanging around the truck- not good. As we tried to get in they stopped us... "How tall is this vehicle sir?"

The gist is the short term lot now exits into a 2nd garage to eliminate staffing the short term booth. That 2nd garage is only 8' tall, a bit close for anybody's comfort. A lengthy discussion ensued about how to get me out of the garage.

The obvious solution to me was to exit out the entrance, however I had to back out because the parking attenants couldn't assure me that the police wouldn't not just give me a ticket for hopping the center curb to make a U-turn.

They weren't apologetic at all about not having the new clearance marked (uh... duuuuh!) and despite my willingness to participate in their shenanagans risking damaging the truck backing out of a narrow twisting entry into traffic (which they did stop) they STILL charged me the $3.

I'm totally P.O.ed. Now I can't pick anyone up at the airport. Some dumb administrator tore out the exit and changed the whole garage without even considering the clearances. Hell, if money was an issue just charge $3.50 and keep the extra people employed!

The garage was never designed to be this way, not that it matters, but some engineering company did the research and decided that 9'6" was the correct height, which incidentially covers all my vehicles. Now it's 8' nothing and a risky prospect to even enter.

What can I say, I'm f*ing p*ss*d off. We go to the airport probably 16-20 times a year and now I can't park anywhere but long term at triple the price and 5x the walk. Is there such a thing as large vehicle discrimination?

Jeffrey · 06-12-2009, 07:11 PM

Park in the white zone. F*ck 'em!

neeemo · 06-12-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

Park in the white zone. F*ck 'em!

Good thought! How could a van parked in front of an airport terminal ever be a problem?

(I need a smily that winks here. Is there one?)

Tom

**BroncoHauler** · 06-12-2009, 10:11 PM

Next time you go, see if they've updated the listed height. If not, go as fast as the max posted speed, and run into the ceiling obstruction. You'll get a least a brand new top out of the deal, and won't have to worry about fixing your recurring leak.

Herb

Skywagon · 06-13-2009, 07:45 AM

Bill

surfgeek33 · 06-13-2009, 09:31 AM

Just got back from San Francisco.......We stayed at the Westin after our Yosemite trip and they charged us $60 a night for "Oversize" Parking

j.whitbread · 06-13-2009, 03:22 PM

Denver Airport should check the Americans with disabilities Act guidelines which calls for 8'2" for vans.

Jeffrey · 06-13-2009, 07:18 PM

I thought I heard on the speaker...." The white zone is for the loading and unloading of Sportsmobiles only. No cars". !!

Greg In Austin · 06-15-2009, 09:43 AM

Jage,

Get you a magnetic sign for the side of your van, .... then use one of the myriad of pickup lanes outside DIA and pick your folks up at the curb..... who will notice if there is one more van picking folks up out there....

Greg In Austin · 06-15-2009, 09:44 AM

Maybe.... Hotel Jage' ....???