COM: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

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Maximus
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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#286 Post by Maximus » Thu May 16, 2013 2:07 pm

Well, I was going to wait until Fifty had confirmed whether he/she had been to Canberra Airport recently, but Briggzy and Westside, you pretty much took the words out of my mouth (or fingers). The new Canberra terminal and associated ground-based transport arrangements are no better or worse than Adelaide's; just different. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but on the whole, both developments are a massive improvement on what was there previously. We should be thankful. And, I might add, from a personal point of view, it's very nice to be primarily using the two newest, shiniest airport terminals in Australia. As an aviation geek, I feel very lucky!

PS: Westside, you should update your profile to show off your location as a proud (temporary?) Canberran! :)
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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#287 Post by fifty » Fri May 17, 2013 10:56 pm

Nope haven't been there since the new part was opened. Was just making observations from the Master Plan. I hear it's not quite yet finished yet anyway??

Like your idea Westside for separation of passengers at Adelaide Airport from the old drop off zone. How simple would have that been??

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#288 Post by claybro » Fri May 17, 2013 11:22 pm

I use Adelaide airport almost weekly. At present mainly to Perth. Our airport should be a source of pride for all Adelaideans. Perth airport is an abomination. HOWEVER upon leaving the terminal, the new plaza area is a bit desolate, and at present a bit cold and windswept. I had heard perhaps a coffee kiosk or something was planned....lets hope they do it soon, because it does not give the impression of a vibrant city when you walk out into concrete and mallee scrub. The drop off/pickup and carpark area seems to work quite well now, but I often see some people in confusion as when you enter the terminal from the ground floor, the escalators to the first floor are off to the side and not easy to find.

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#289 Post by crawf » Sat May 18, 2013 7:12 pm

claybro wrote:I use Adelaide airport almost weekly. At present mainly to Perth. Our airport should be a source of pride for all Adelaideans. Perth airport is an abomination. HOWEVER upon leaving the terminal, the new plaza area is a bit desolate, and at present a bit cold and windswept. I had heard perhaps a coffee kiosk or something was planned....lets hope they do it soon, because it does not give the impression of a vibrant city when you walk out into concrete and mallee scrub. The drop off/pickup and carpark area seems to work quite well now, but I often see some people in confusion as when you enter the terminal from the ground floor, the escalators to the first floor are off to the side and not easy to find.
To be honest I think the whole area looks fantastic now. A far cry from a few years ago..

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#290 Post by Briggzy_03 » Mon May 20, 2013 3:42 pm

Maximus wrote:Well, I was going to wait until Fifty had confirmed whether he/she had been to Canberra Airport recently, but Briggzy and Westside, you pretty much took the words out of my mouth (or fingers). The new Canberra terminal and associated ground-based transport arrangements are no better or worse than Adelaide's; just different. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but on the whole, both developments are a massive improvement on what was there previously. We should be thankful. And, I might add, from a personal point of view, it's very nice to be primarily using the two newest, shiniest airport terminals in Australia. As an aviation geek, I feel very lucky!
I experienced the pick up situation the other night when picking up the Mrs from Canberra Airport. Anyone criticizing Adelaide's set up only needs to come to Canberra, they just built this beautiful crescent version of Adelaide's old pick up area and you can't even use it, I assume, because of security. :wallbash:

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#291 Post by neoballmon » Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:04 am

Dropped a friend off at the airport this morning, and used the short term parking. I quite like the design they've got there. Very simple to navigate (although I was in the left lane just before the drop off zone, not realizing the turn off to the parking was from the right Lane) and would have been close to a thousand free parks (at 6.30am) so surely this would be sufficient for the whole days' capacity.
Had I known departures were level 2 of the terminal, I probably would have parked on this level, but accessibility from level 1 was very good anyway, the pedestrian bridge looked exceptional, and the Plaza looked quite nice.

One slight issue, I'm sure a lot was spent on the license plate recognition cameras at the entry and exit, yet my plate was read incorrectly by the entry scanner, it mistook my '6' for a '0'. I'm hoping it didn't read as a 6 when I exited, and have them contact me about my leaving but not entering. But I'm sure they won't care for a mere $6, which was paid anyway (by a plate combination that doesn't exist in SA according to my exyreg app)

Overall I like how this has worked out, but I travel very little so I have nothing to really compare our terminal to.
Looking forward to a free-flowing Adelaide!

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#292 Post by claybro » Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:46 pm

Just noticed tonight after being picked up from the airport there are now pedestrian activated traffic lights at the crossing over the drop off/ pickup road under the carpark. What is the Adelaide obsession with these crossings. At no other airport in the world have I seen a situation where pedestrians controll the traffic lights to cross. Are we too moronic to handle good old fashined zebra crossings...they seem to work fine everywhere else. :wallbash:

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#293 Post by MessiahAndrw » Sat Nov 02, 2013 2:25 am

rev wrote:Here are two photos of the plaza I found on instagram again..

Image
Image
An oversupply of public realm, and no reason to occupy it?

I thought, maybe they could make this better if they dressed it up with some retail?

But, unlike the space beyond the security checkpoints where you find plenty of cafes and shops, I think that very few people actually want to hang out in front of an airport. Most people want to get checked-in, or head home/to their hotel ASAP before they relax.

Even when I've had people wait for me to arrive, most usually head to the baggage pickup instead.
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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#294 Post by mooshie » Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:50 am

claybro wrote:Just noticed tonight after being picked up from the airport there are now pedestrian activated traffic lights at the crossing over the drop off/ pickup road under the carpark. What is the Adelaide obsession with these crossings. At no other airport in the world have I seen a situation where pedestrians controll the traffic lights to cross. Are we too moronic to handle good old fashined zebra crossings...they seem to work fine everywhere else. :wallbash:
That have zebra and button controlled lights in Sydney....

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#295 Post by Nathan » Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:32 am

MessiahAndrw wrote:An oversupply of public realm, and no reason to occupy it?

I thought, maybe they could make this better if they dressed it up with some retail?

But, unlike the space beyond the security checkpoints where you find plenty of cafes and shops, I think that very few people actually want to hang out in front of an airport. Most people want to get checked-in, or head home/to their hotel ASAP before they relax.

Even when I've had people wait for me to arrive, most usually head to the baggage pickup instead.
I thought that a cafe or two is still on the cards. They're currently putting in the water features which will help soften it up a bit, and I'm sure the space will be a bit more inviting once the trees become more established.

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#296 Post by claybro » Sun Nov 10, 2013 10:29 am

with regard to the under-utilisd plaza, and not sure if this has been mentioned here previously, but what happened to the old plane on display in its own building outside the former terminal? Is it still there, lost in all the new developement? or have we lost this historic relic to some other place? If it is still there, surely a new glass display structure could have been incorporated into the new plaza, so all visitors to the airport could enjoy it on every visit. as a kid, we visited this display on a school excursion, and it is one thing about the old airport that has stuck in my mind...that curious little building with the old plane inside...

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#297 Post by Patrick_27 » Sun Nov 10, 2013 11:09 pm

claybro wrote:with regard to the under-utilisd plaza, and not sure if this has been mentioned here previously, but what happened to the old plane on display in its own building outside the former terminal? Is it still there, lost in all the new developement? or have we lost this historic relic to some other place? If it is still there, surely a new glass display structure could have been incorporated into the new plaza, so all visitors to the airport could enjoy it on every visit. as a kid, we visited this display on a school excursion, and it is one thing about the old airport that has stuck in my mind...that curious little building with the old plane inside...
Well said! Last time I flew I thought the same thing. It's still sitting in the middle of the long-term parking area, they have talked about where to put it since the new terminal was built. If the argument for not putting it in the plaza is because it would block the line of sight from the the terminal to the drop off - pick up area then they could easily move it to the Eastern end of the plaza and surround it with the commercial development that is planned for that area. OR perhaps they could incorporate it into the hotel development, have the hotel built on-top of a glass display area and actually make the hotel look more externally appealing. :)

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#298 Post by spiller » Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:10 am

this plaza was destined to be a white elephant from the beginning. I also wish they hadn't planted Eucalyptus trees there, they aren't exactly the most lively of trees and wont do anything to give the area a bit of colour. They really do need some food and retail here, but as others have suggested, people usually want to check in as soon as they arrive so that might not be viable.

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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#299 Post by Ho Really » Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:35 am

spiller wrote:this plaza was destined to be a white elephant from the beginning. I also wish they hadn't planted Eucalyptus trees there, they aren't exactly the most lively of trees and wont do anything to give the area a bit of colour. They really do need some food and retail here, but as others have suggested, people usually want to check in as soon as they arrive so that might not be viable.
One thing that irks me alot about Adelaide Airport, and I'll say it again, is that they shouldn't have closed the ramp to Departures. I'm OK with limiting who goes up there, because most people don't abide by the rules of dropping off people quickly and taking off. I understood the airport's concern on traffic management (not the security reasons). However they should've left this open for those coming to the airport in private transfers and taxis. I can live with that.

The other thing is the wasted space in this plaza. Maybe they thought the workers at the airport needed somewhere where they could spend time in the open. Granted. But there's so much of it. Maybe they'll use some of this space in future for something else. I also agree about the trees they've planted. These will offer very little shade in future. They'll probably also crack the pavement. Their only redeeming value is that they are native trees and would need little water. I personally would have preferred plane trees (no pun intended). They offer better shade and have become accustomed to our climate.

I guess we will need to wait and see how the place looks when the hotel is built. I also hope they put in the light rail as soon as possible to put the cherry on top of Australia's best airport.

Cheers
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Re: U/C: Adelaide Airport Carpark & Pedestrian Plaza

#300 Post by spiller » Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:08 pm

forgive my lack of plant knowledge but what are "plane trees"? Are they what's planted down frome road? If so, these would have been much nicer than those crappy eucalyptus trees. I acknowledge that they dump their leaves in Autumn but they are still no less attractive than gum trees in this time of the year, besides in spring and summer, they'd be much nicer. Obviously more maintenance, but if they wanted a low cost area, they should have just covered the entire area in concrete. Oh, wait...

I agree on the closure of the ramp being a bad idea too. The drop off/pick up zone and the carpark do not need to be attached in any way. It should have remained as it was, or at least, they could have created separated pick up areas down the bottom (i.e. taxis, chauffeurs, buses in one lane, private vehicles in the other). They had the space to do it.

Anyhow, one positive is that at the moment, we have a fresh, new looking airport. The first comment my father-in-law made when I picked him up at the airport from his journey over from Chicago was in regards to how impressive and new it all looked compared to the american airports. I guess its a good gateway to Adelaide, for now anyway.

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