YVR long-term parking is now a long haul from terminal
Airport has moved long-term economy lot 2.5 kilometres away from terminal
Travellers planning to leave their vehicles at the Vancouver International Airport for a few days now need to plan an extra leg into their journey — the new long term parking lot is 2.5 km away, and requires a SkyTrain trip to catch a flight.
YVR shut its old long term parking lot down last week, as construction begins on an expanded parkade next to the terminal.
There are big signs on Grant McConachie Way pointing travellers to the new lot, which is close to the outlet mall at the Templeton SkyTrain station.
People heading to the airport can ride the SkyTrain for free from there, but they still need to print a ticket from the kiosk.
Mixed reaction from travellers
Whitney De Beer and her child were at the new parking lot on Tuesday — though they weren't flying.
"Yeah this is a bit of a test run," said De Beer.
"We're travelling on Sunday, so we thought we'd park out here and see what everything was like. The only problem I foresee is it may be a bit of a hassle with baby, and luggage, and car seat."
She said the SkyTrain worked pretty well this time, but it adds a step to the trip.
Tom Powell was also parking at the economy lot on Tuesday, although he wasn't leaving town this time either. The added SkyTrain ride caused him some confusion.
"I wasn't sure what to do once I got here, and once I got inside I didn't know I needed a [ticket]," said Powell, adding that requiring a ticket for the free ride seemed like a waste of time.
There are signs posted around Templeton station but if you're in a rush, they could be easy to miss.
Blaine McCartney tried parking at the short term parkade, which remains open and unaffected by the parking changes, but his contractor van wouldn't fit. He tried going to the old long term parkade, but was turned away.
"The guy was there and he said, 'no, you have to go elsewhere.' I'm like, 'OK, I get it. It's fine,'" said McCartney, who added that he wasn't really bothered by the run-around.
"It wasn't too bad at all."
Cheaper parking
According to YVR, travellers should give themselves a little extra time to adjust to the changes.
The SkyTrain could take as long as 20 minutes to arrive and the shuttle that runs after the SkyTrain ends at night could take as long as 30 minutes to pick up travellers.
The new lot also comes with a bit of a cheaper fee than the old one. It's now $15/day rather than $22/day, or $96/week rather than $144/week.