As you might have guessed by now if you?ve read this column with any regularity, I really appreciate technology. Maybe it?s just a guy thing, but I like gadgets ? the bigger, the better. That?s why I was so happy to read that Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is thinking about building the ultimate airport gadget ? a people mover.
In an interview with MassTransit magazine (NOT available at a newsstand near you), Paul Shank, the airport?s very capable deputy executive director, details a plan which is part of the airport?s current billion-dollar expansion. If you?ve traveled around the country to places such as Atlanta or Denver, you?ve seen these monorail-like trains that automatically shuttle passengers from the terminal to other terminals or facilities.
The plan at BWI is to have the people mover connect to the consolidated rental car facility, an employee parking lot, the Amtrak/MARC railroad station, and the massive daily parking garage. Part of the plan at this point is to build an intermodal transportation center as the central point, rather than making the terminal the meeting point.
The transportation center would connect to the light rail line, as well as a proposed extension of the Washington Metrorailsystem (don?t hold your breath on that one) and would be a connection for buses to parking, hotels and even the cruise lines. Shank says it?s possible that the passenger and luggage screening could be done in this facility rather than in the terminal building. The problem of where to locate the equipment for automated luggage screening has long been a problem for the airport, because the need for this equipment came after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and wasn?t part of the initial space plans at the airport. Shank says the people mover would be the only connection to the terminal building, although it seems as though that overrides a lot of the work that?s already been done to make access to that building easier.
The thing I found interesting in the article is that only 3 percent of those using the airport use transit. While Shank expects that to grow to 5 percent, it still seems awfully low. The majority of those using the light rail connection to downtown and points north are mainly airport employees. Perhaps making some of these connections easier through the use of a people mover will increase those numbers.
The cost of the system starts at $500 million, although the length of the tunnels might be increased in order to protect the environment, which could make the cost go even higher. The airport expects that many of the airport?s shareholders (read: the airlines that use the airport) will help pay for it. It?s a lot of money but a very cool idea that I hope sees the light of day.
Local construction projects
There are a lot of construction projects going on, and that includes a new one that I wanted to highlight for those of you in Lutherville. York Road between Cavan Drive and Ridgely Road is being widened and repaved. At the same time, a 24-inch water main will be installed. This means lane closures and a lot of hassles during the project. The real bad news? The project won?t be completed until the spring of 2009.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
