Airport-Passenger Parking Design

Despite standard procedures for estimating the quantity of parking space for airports, great difficulties persist at many terminals. These principally concern the amount of space available for the short-term parking of vehicles used in the pickup and delivery (PUD) of passengers. The problem is that of determining the right quality or mix of parking facilities. A need is identified for a different kind of facility: space for vehicles remaining for 30 minutes or less during PUD activities. This represents an intermediate kind of facility between curb space, which is most useful for very rapid PUD by taxis, courtesy cars, and the like, and the standard short- and long-term storage facilities. When this kind of space is not available close to a terminal, drivers will be forced to jam the curbside. A way to estimate the amount of PUD space desirable for airports is proposed. The practical examples of Boston and Los Angeles are discussed.