Mandy Miles' - "Tan Lines"
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Effectively Demandy

By MANDY MILES Citizen Staff

Well done, everyone.

Good things started happening at the airport once I casually mentioned that there was room for attitude and parking improvements.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I can damn sure squeak. Just ask my parents, my husband and the old boyfriend who called me "Demandy."

But this was a team effort on the part of me and so many of my readers, so I'm happy to share the good news I received on Friday.

New parking spots will be established for people picking up arriving passengers, new signs are being installed and we can expect a kinder, gentler police force directing traffic.

Wow, Christmas came early in Key West.

But for those of you just joining this discussion, let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about my horrible experience at the airport while picking up a friend who was returning home from vacation.

There was no curb space to pull over and allow my friend to get into the car. So when I saw him walk out the front doors, I merely paused in the next traffic lane so he could climb in. He had no luggage, so there was no trunk-popping and loading. He was a returning local, so there were no hugs or extended greetings. He just had to get into the car.

Oh, and it was 10 p.m. on a Wednesday -- not exactly what I would call "peak hours."

In fact, there was not another car in sight behind us -- except the cop and his blue disco lights. There was a trio of people traversing the crosswalk in front of my car and heading toward the rental cars. While stopped for these pedestrians, my friend hopped into the car and had his door closed well before the last pedestrian was safely across.

Nevertheless, any casual observer, upon seeing the vein pop out on the deputy's forehead, would have thought I had abandoned my car in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve after plowing down 30 people.

He yelled, waved his arms and bellowed, "Move on," through his in-car loudspeaker.

He couldn't even see that there were pedestrians in front of me, but his blue lights certainly illuminated my scofflaw friend, who had the audacity to get into the car once I stopped for those in the crosswalk.

It was ridiculous. I was embarrassed at the greeting our visitors receive at the airport if they have the gall to accept a ride from their host friend, rather than shell out 15 bucks for a cab.

So I squeaked. And by that I mean I wrote. I detailed my experience, voiced my frustration and asked the powers that be to design a plan for passenger pickup.

I also promised to help spread the word in this column space and tell the locals about whatever plan materialized.

But I did not squeak alone, and our combined voices turned into a roar.

To date, I have received more than 18 e-mails from readers who had received the exact same treatment at the airport. My inbox that Sunday afternoon was filled with messages titled "Thank you," "You tell 'em," and "Airport issues."

I enjoyed the support I was getting from readers, and County Commissioner Heather Carruthers was working on getting to the bottom of things, but I hadn't heard a peep from airport officials or the Sheriff's Office -- until this past week.

Airports Director Peter Horton mentioned my less-than-complimentary rant during a recent luncheon. Afterward, I took the liberty of forwarding him all the messages I had received from similarly frustrated readers.

One woman wrote that her elderly mother starts worrying about the Key West pickup process when she boards her plane in Michigan. Another reader -- and writer -- compared the law enforcement officers to the Gestapo, while another resident was tired of being treated like the enemy, especially from people whose salaries we pay.

Mr. Horton in turn forwarded those e-mails to Lt. Mitch Snider, head of airport security for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

And things started happening.

"He says his headquarters higher-ups have been all over him to improve officer demeanor here at the airport," Horton wrote to me about Lt. Snider. "We had a meeting with him this morning, and he laid out the changes (no whistles, no waving of the arms, no shouting at drivers and passengers, etc.)."

Lt. Snider wrote to me on Saturday, and promised he is doing his best to balance safety issues with other considerations and their impact on the public.

He has directed his officers to remain curbside and sped more time enforcing the new rules regarding cabs and vans and less time enforcing minor traffic violations.

Snider also told his people they are to offer helpful instructions to people about where to park, rather than pointing out the traffic violation of stopping in a roadway or crosswalk.

Thank you, Lieutenant. Thank you. And, yes, I look forward to sitting down with you soon to review additional positive changes at the airport. I can also assure you I am not the only one who appreciates your attention to this matter.

Mr. Horton's message to me continued to detail other significant improvements being made at the airport for the benefit of local drivers.

"When we complete these changes, there will be six curb spaces for immediate passenger pickup, eight spaces in the rental car lot along the front row, for a half-hour of free parking for those who need more time to load up and of course dozens of one-hour-free spaces in the west lot (40 yards from the arrival door)."

In addition to the new parking options, crews are installing large signs this week letting people know about them.

"We hope these two initiatives on the part of both the Sheriff's Office and the airport will solve the problems that we've been having with passenger pickup congestion ... ," Horton continued.

Thank you, Peter. Thank you. I believe those initiatives will work, and I appreciate you guys making things better out there.

In the meantime, let me know if you need further assistance spreading the word. I can squeak mighty loud.

Thanks again for your attention to this matter.

Signed, Demandy.

mmiles@keysnews.com