A2 Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Your avatar is trippy MB. A2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 i believe in those code orange/yellow situations, they check cars because of the possibility of a trunk-bomb or something. transit would not be subject to the same search, but they might have some additional security on the transit to investigate suspicious activity, etc. Anyway, the point is, there may be specific operational and technical concerns with having a stops at the terminal, airport parking decks, and rental car facilities... but it seems to me that those specific concerns can be dealt with and there are many benefits from merging the systems. how much are streetcar/tram vehicles and tracks per mile? it just seems like they would be competitive with whatever people mover system the airport would otherwise be looking at. why not just through the money into the CATS budget for the west line, and iron out the wrinkles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 I think you need a really short heavy rail system for an airport to move people between concourses. I am reminded of the airport subway in Atlanta. There is one every couple of minutes and the vehicles tended to be packed with people. This system is very effective in getting people to the correct concourse in time to get to their plane. Heavy Airport rail = short hops, lots of people, very fast,, 2-5 minute frequency, very expensive/mile Ok expense for the very short airport route. Contrast this to the requirements for the West line. Moderate ridership, longer hops, frequency can be up to 15 - 30 minutes (longer in the late evening and on weekends unlike the airport) fast, less expensive. Light rail is chosen when cost/mile needs to be controled. These are opposing requirements for a transport system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miesian Corners Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 (edited) All the people mover is designed to do is to transport passengers from parking areas to the terminal and future hotel. Presumably it could also transfer passengers from a mass transit station for whatever mode they settle on (bus/LRT/streetcar). All secured areas will have moving sidewalks for transportation (if you want to call it that). There is one idea floating around out at CLT that would offer additonal passenger screening and ticketing at a cross over near the FAA tower. It would connect Concourse E with the proposed International Terminal. This is based somewhat on the MSP model. The black line running L to R is the people mover running from the four sections of the parking garage to the terminal. The gray line running top to bottom at the right end of the black line is the connector for both sides of the airport. It has ticketing, security and moving sidewalks, thus avoiding the bulk of the main terminal. Edited September 25, 2005 by Miesian Corners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...de/12673011.htm an update on the airport from the observer's living here guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanCharlotte Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Independence Air cuts Charlotte flights Click Here For more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...el/12759212.htm US Airways is now a merged entity with America West. I just hope that the new management keeps this airline in a good place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylinedrive Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 It only seems feasible to me to have 2 seperate trains. One a people mover on 5 min intervals and then a seperate West rail line running on 15 min+ intervals. Since the airport doesn't want to build park and ride lots for CATS, then it doesn't make sense to terminate the line at the airport. It would be nice to have the West line go directly to the main terminal just like MARTA in Atlanta, METRO in DC, and BART in SFO. It looks like our arrangement will be just like Newark, where you have a free people mover running on 5 minute interals that takes you from the main terminal to the parking decks, rental car places, and then stops at the Commuter Rail line at the edge of the airport. Keep in mind that Amtrak plans on making the Airport a stop in the future for the Crescent and any future high speed rail just like at the Newark Airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Keep in mind that Amtrak plans on making the Airport a stop in the future for the Crescent and any future high speed rail just like at the Newark Airport. Where did you get this information? Amtrak is not currently building highspeed rail anywhere. That is being left to the individual states to handle. In the case of NC it is a colaboration of the NCDOT and the VDOT and there are no plans to run the trains to the Airport. At the moment, the final stop will be the Gateway Multimodal Station. Amtrak might even be out of business by the time those trains are running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Well I did a little checking and believe it or not there is a plan to put a high speed rail stop at the airport. Its not part of the active SEHSR project but instead part of a proposal to extend the line from Charlotte to Macon GA. If it is built this means a passenger train will be running from the Gateway station to the airport. How likely is that to happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 any links to info? the charlotte to atlanta and probably macon will almost certainly happen at some point, as it is simply a matter of coordinating upgrades to the railroad corridors. SC and GA are almost certain to do those upgrades at some point as it helps pull freight off the crowded i85. It is probably more than a decade away, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Here you go. This Link It's going to take SC & GA making a financial commitment to the project before it will happen and unfortunately they are not the most transit oriented states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...el/13007202.htm it looks like usairways' cost-structure improvements and merger with america west is already helping the fare situation in charlotte. it was the 7th largest decline in fares. hopefully that will mean more people fly out of charlotte instead of doing that weird thing where they drive to greensboro just to fly back to charlotte to connect just to get a fare that is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalSky Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 yeah i saw that... 5% is pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QC704 Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/liv...el/13007202.htm it looks like usairways' cost-structure improvements and merger with america west is already helping the fare situation in charlotte. it was the 7th largest decline in fares. hopefully that will mean more people fly out of charlotte instead of doing that weird thing where they drive to greensboro just to fly back to charlotte to connect just to get a fare that is reasonable. I would think most of that would be attributed to AirTran and not USAirways so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 usairways has such a sizeable percentage of charlotte's air routes, an average 5% dip would definitely need to include usairways fares... that isn't to say, though, that the competition from air tran and others hasn't contributed to the competition that spurred these lower fares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 Only on routes that Air Tran flys. If you try to book a route on USAir where there is no competition, the rates are unbelievebly high. I honestly wished USAir had gone bankrupt. Study after study proves the failure of an airline hub does not hurt the growth of a city and it reduces airfares as much as 90% in some cases for local residents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 they did go bankrupt. but the fact that they are obtaining investers after restructuring implies that the hybrid hub-spoke and low-cost system is worth a try. frankly, purely low-cost airlines are only good for supplements for a real system... but if all the hub and spokes went out of business, we wouldn't have much of a system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted October 29, 2005 Report Share Posted October 29, 2005 I'm not sure what that means, but the bottom line is this. USAir still has a monopoly in Charlotte which means we will continue to pay the highest prices for airtravel (by far) of any city in the USA. Low cost does not mean Low Fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I believe air fares in Charlotte are the seventh highest in the nation. That's not great, but prices are improving. I admit I was shocked when I moved here and had to fly out of Charlotte for the first time. It was actually cheaper for me to drive (or even fly) to Atlanta and take another flight from there. Memphis was cheaper, too. Re: the rail line from Charlotte to Macon. I asked about this in the Atlanta forum several months ago. IIRC, it's a part of a multi-state rail that would connect major cities in the SE. NC, SC, GA and TN were the most interested in the rail line. I love the idea of it. A 1-2 hour trip from Charlotte to Atlanta? That would completely change the south and its economy. Anyway, they've been discussing it since the 90s. I think the first proposed map was released in 2002. I haven't really heard much since then. They do have an official site. I'll try to find it. Oh, my point about the rail is that it would have a HUGE impact on airlines prices and the viability of the companies involved. moved the rail discussions to the following thread: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...pic=17212&st=15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Does anyone have the dates as to when the people mover/train might be added to the airport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I haven't seen that listed, but I would suspect it would be timed with the West transit corridor construction. That is expected to be completed in 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyxmike Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 (edited) Does the airport have a direct connection to I-85? I don't think it does, but if not, who thinks they should build an exit and a road dedicated to the airport only? I guess you could use Billy Graham, but direct access would be a lot easier (don't have to deal with lights and traffic - are they ever going to widen Billy Graham?) They should really fix up the area around the airport (once you leave it) - it doesn't leave you with a very good first impression - they could atleast landscape the median on Josh Birmingham Parkway so it looks nice. Also, who thinks the checkered "Welcome to Charlotte" sign painted on a concrete wall is tacky? I'd love to have a welcome sign like RDU, with the Charlotte Douglas logo... I do like the new parking deck though - has the one next to it started construction yet? Edited November 2, 2005 by nyxmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 No unfortunately it does not. However the good news is there is a plan to provide a direct exit for the Airport on I-85 and I believe the land has been set aside for it. It should have been built by now, and I don't know what has held it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubone Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Click here and then on the the "Airport.pdf" link to see the CATS station area plans that show the new road. The white dotted line is the planned little-rock road extension that will provide a direct airport exit on 85. As far as funding goes, it is unclear whether it does or doesn't have the funds to start construction in the next few years. You can see that project on the NCDOT TIP. (Click on the U-203 link by the airport). As you can see, the state 7 year construction budget only provides for planning, mitigation, and right of way. However, on the MTIP from MUMPO, it has that road slated for construction in 2007. I am pretty sure, though, that it will actually end up being constructed in 2007, but the state will reimburse the local DOT or the Airport for its share after 2012. That seems to be how a few different projects are working these days in order to not wait on the tight state budgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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