Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Airport Authority Ends Handicap Discount Parking; Politicians Still Park For Free

The Indianapolis Airport Authority announced yesterday that it would end its discount parking for handicap persons. Instead of paying $9 a day to park in the parking garage adjacent to the terminal, they will now be charged $18 a day. Airport officials decided the $280,000 the discounted parking cost the authority annually was more than its troubled budget could handle. "The airport board began discounting parking at the old garage and terminal building because they were short on spaces or other amenities for travelers with physical disabilities," writes Bruce Smith of the Star. His story makes no mention of the special discount for state and local officials. Statewide officers, state legislators, mayors and councilors park at the airport for free. I wonder if the Airport Authority has done a study to find out how much that perk is costing the airport annually in lost revenues. Better yet, the airport authority should slash the outrageous six-figure pay and free travel its controversial head, John Clark, receives. Clark spent $37,000 on travel during his first year on the job. We learned that he drives a Porsche 911 after he was ticketed on a Florida interstate driving at 135 mph on his way to the Super Bowl in Miami.

8 comments:

Blog Admin said...

Is there a publicly available document, like some sort of contract, that specifies politicians park for free?

Paul K. Ogden said...

Isn't Smith the reporter who thinks the airport is privately funded?

Gary R. Welsh said...

It's just standard operating procedure out there for the airport authority to curry favor with the politicians for favored treatment when they need them.

Marycatherine Barton said...

Another cold-hearted decision from IAA.

Downtown Indy said...

And, I'm told, soon the $7 bus trip to/from downtown will be discontinued.

dcrutch said...

I'm dumfounded.

It really takes another animated rally similar to what it took to save the libraries? Given their current batting average as "public servants", how about instead the pols pay double and the handicapped pay nothing? Bet it would pass in a referendum.

This is nuttier than Peterson's tax increase before the election.

dcrutch said...

Sorry. It would indeed dumbfound us all if I never misspelled again (and worthy of paying a fee).

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