Another Minor Rant about LaGuardia Airport (Or, “P” stands for “Level” at LGA)

I’ve previously observed that LaGuardia airport is like a little island of the third world right here in the middle of the first — but that’s not really fair, because third-world airports are nicer than LGA.

Now add the following question, which should be simple: If you park in a parking spot labeled “P4” before you leave, which button in the elevator do you press to get to your car when you return: P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, or P6?

Here’s where I parked…
…but how to get back?

You’d be forgiven if you guessed P4, but you’d also be wrong. In my case, I parked in P4 and had to press P2! Only in LGA.

You see, the “designers” of LGA decided to use “P” as the abbreviation for “parking area” and, astoundingly — unforgivably, really — also for “level.” (What, did they run out of letters?) So “P4” is the parking garage serving terminals C and D. But inside of P4 are six levels, which are called not “L1” to “L6” or “1” to “6” but, idiotically, “P1” to “P6.”

Really. I can’t even imagine the discussion. They had a parking garage called “P4” with six levels, so the designers had to decide what to call the levels. Was there a meeting at which someone suggested, “How about L1 to L6,” but got shouted down? Did someone say, “Let’s use P to abbreviate everything at this airport?” Was someone reading an essay on design principles called “Don’t Let This Happen to You”? Was it a practical joke?

I don’t get it.

A Woman Tries to Navigate LaGuardia Airport

About J.M. Hoffman

A prolific writer and avid photographer, J.M. Hoffman picked up his first camera when he was eight years old. And even though he abhors a cliche, he never looked back. Acclaimed as a "master raconteur" who writes with a "flair" (Times Literary Supplement of London), Hoffman authored two non-fiction books and contributed to over a dozen others before writing The Warwick Files. He continues to write fiction and non-fiction. In addition to writing and traveling the world lecturing about his books, Hoffman has also directed a dance troupe, taught darkroom technique, and explored Patagonia on horseback. From time to time he can be seen playing table tennis poorly at the WTCC. He lives just north of New York City.

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