A TIGHT SQUEEZE IN BURBANK WITH PASSENGER TRAFFIC ON RISE, AIRPORT STRUGGLES WITH PARKING.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

BURBANK -- It wasn't hard for Kieran Baher to find a parking spot at Bob Hope Airport -- he settled for one on the far end of the lot within earshot of jets on the move, where his car will sit for a few days while he and his family are in Chicago.

``You can always wish for closer parking,'' said Baher, 35, of Bakersfield, as he waited for a shuttle to the terminal. ``But they have a pretty good setup compared to other airports.''

Parking has gotten so tight at the airport that officials are putting yellow fliers on parked cars saying, ``Don't Park -- Get a lift.'' While space shortage remains a problem for the airport operators, the parking nightmare officials predicted before the start of the summer travel rush appeared to have been averted so far through such consumer outreach.

``It seems to be working,'' airport spokesman Victor Gill said of the campaign, which launched in May. ``We haven't filled all four lots simultaneously. We've had three out of four filled. It's like we're walking the line and not really tripping.''

Still, long-term parking relief is at least several years away. A development agreement with the city of Burbank prevents the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority from converting a spare 41-acre property into parking for three more years.

A trial shuttle service between the Van Nuys FlyAway terminal and the airport remains under review, while more ambitious solutions such as parking structures will require years of study and capital investment.

``There's not much vacant land around here,'' said Charles Lombardo, an airport authority commissioner representing Burbank. ``We're rather landlocked.''

Bob Hope Airport passenger traffic was up 6.5 percent during the first six months of 2006 compared to the same period a year earlier. The airport's 6,500 parking spots start the day about 70 percent full, and officials rely on turnover to serve arriving travelers.

Parking is especially scarce during the morning rush, when the airport likely has a plane ready to depart at every terminal, Lombardo said.

``There could literally be 1,500 to 2,000 people to fill up those planes at 7 o'clock. That's how many people potentially could be looking for parking,'' he said.

The airport commission had considered converting property near Empire Avenue -- the Southwest Quadrant -- into parking. That move would have required amending a 2005 agreement with Burbank, which forbade that use for four years. But commissioners backed off in May to avoid battle with critics of airport growth.

There are no plans to develop parking structures within existing airport property.

``That's extremely expensive, and we don't know if that would work,'' Lombardo said.

Meantime, a shuttle service between Van Nuys and the airport, which allows travelers to leave their cars in the Woodley Avenue FlyAway bus depot's 2,500-car lot, remained under review.

A proposed six-month trial was slated to be considered last month by Los Angeles World Airports, which operates the Los Angeles International-bound bus service, but Bob Hope Airport officials pulled the item for more study, said Nancy Castles, a LAWA spokeswoman.

``LAWA would welcome future discussion about creative transportation and parking options, and we would be pleased to partner with Burbank airport in the future,'' she said.

Establishing the route could create other concerns. The FlyAway lot has been running about 80 percent full, and Burbank-bound travelers could add to the crunch.

Only one month remains in the summer travel season, ending with Labor Day, one of the busiest travel days of the year. Airport officials hope travelers will continue to heed their parking warnings.

``Try taking a taxi or a shuttle,'' Lombardo said. ``It's more convenient, and I guarantee you won't hit any problems.''

Not that it stopped Alexis Neal of Palmdale from driving herself to the airport last week.

``I've never seen it this crowded,'' said Neal, who was bound for Reno as she cruised for a spot at Burbank's Lot A. ``Are there any more spaces back there?''

There were -- she just had to keep driving.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) A jetliner makes its way down the tarmac past a crowded parking lot Friday morning at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, where travelers are finding it more crowded than ever.

(2) The Baher family, from left, Kari, son Ethan, 8, and dad Kieran, from Bakersfield, wait for a tram in a crowded parking lot at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank on Friday morning.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer