Originally Posted by
ZOOKER
What is needed are more multi-storey car-parks. These should have been built years ago.
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, albeit I think the desired outcome (clearing the terminal forecourts of as much traffic as realistically possible) will require a much wider solution than building more car parks
In particular, the airport requires a much faster and more reliable method of getting people from remote car parks to the terminal buildings. Bussed solutions do not cut it at it stands now, and certainly won't if the airport has genuine aspirations of growing beyond 30-35 million annual passengers.
Obviously better (faster, cleaner, more reliable and comfortable) public transport so as to encourage a greater percentage of airport journeys helps, but people use the car far more outside of London so I'm not sure this is a realistic aspiration without massive investment and generational changes in behaviour.
In the short term, the apparent value engineering of the TP appears to continue apace. When all is said and done, it will be interesting to trace this process back through the various design iterations - but that's a subject for another day!