TAMWORTH Airport users should find parking spaces easier to find now, with the first stage of the new $1.2 million car park open.
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The first 30 of the anticipated 179 spaces in the short-term car park were opened to public use this week.
The remaining car parks are expected to be completed later on, but Tamworth Regional Council has completed an extension of the long-term car park area – across the road, on the southern side of Basil Brown Dr – which now provides a total of 178 parking spaces.
The project is the forerunner to a new era for airport users, with a new fee structure for parking set to come into effect in November, when the new boom gates are installed.
Until then, they’re free, just like the long-term car parking at the rear.
Airport manager Julie Stewart said the project met a demand for more parking spaces and would also improve traffic flow.
There is still more work to come at the airport, with alterations to the kerbside near the terminal to improve the set-down and pick-up areas, a new taxi turning area, waiting bays for six taxis and two buses, and improved lighting.
A new designated concrete pathway links the terminal to the long-term car park.
The work on the boom gates will start when tenders for the project are finalised.
They closed last week and the assessment process is under way.
Tamworth Regional Council approved the introduction of paid short-term car parking as part of its latest operations plan.
The new fee structure will include free parking for the first hour, followed by a charge of $3 an hour, to a maximum of $18 a day or $65 a week.
Free parking will remain at the current long-term car park on the southern side of Basil Brown Dr.