Balanced Highway—Airport Design

Planning for the tremendous growth of airport complexes has many similarities with city central business district problems. (Typical traffic and parking characteristics are cited for both.) However, airports are growing much faster. The problem of peripheral land use development is discussed. There has been one-sided access as well as development all on one side of the air terminal, accentuating congestion. Time savings with various types of ground transport systems are evaluated, and it is concluded that dependable rapid transit, as an adjunct to the auto, is needed. Ground traffic congestion now results in the air traveler spending from one-third to two-thirds of his portal-to-portal trip time on the ground. However rail rapid transit has not proven successful, generally due largely to dispersed ground trip origins and destinations. Seven airport-CBD rail links are described showing only two as attracting substantial patronage, Brussels and London Gatwick. The answer to the access problem appears to be high-speed low-capacity ground systems, such as buses with priority treatment on highway routes, and examples are given as to how this has been achieved.