Circle Parking

Handy, but expensive!

So, the moral of the story here is that if you’ve been distracted in the hours leading up to your flight, don’t forget to look at your flight time, not your boarding time, as your guide to «when to get to the airport.» Especially at KCI, where you can park, get through security, and be in line at your gate within 30 minutes, you always have a little more time. I, however, managed to look at the boarding time, and hence I started rushing (I had preplanned my morning routine around the flight time) when I thought I was going to be late. I passed up my normal off-​site parking location and headed into circle parking. It was more full than full, with people parked in places they shouldn’t be, with the corresponding notices for cite and tow that I saw on the windshields that I didn’t want weighing down on my mind while I was away on my vacation. I stalked a gentleman walking to his car, asked if I could follow him to his space, and picked up a parking spot after 10 minutes of searching. Convinced I might actually miss my flight this time, I rushed to check my bags. It was then that I found out that I didn’t actually need to pay $ 13/​day for parking. I should have just checked my FLIGHT time.
However, as far as safety and cost goes, and walk time to your car, not bad. As far as efficiency versus using an off-​site place, very bad.
Use the off-​site places whenever possible. They are cheaper, better, and more efficient (but that’s usually what happens when you pit the private sector against quasi-​governmental agencies :-)