Dan416
Senior Member
Personally I'd be fine with a pedestrian bridge. That's all that's really needed.
Personally I'd be fine with a pedestrian bridge. That's all that's really needed.
Heated of course.
No, but if it is built to handle vehicles with public money it will be hard to deny people access to it. A streetcar tunnel would keep private vehicles out but I don't think a bridge ever could. What would they do? Create a security checkpoint to see if vehicles have proper documentation to go to the island? It just wouldn't be inviting.
A bus running between the park and the ferry dock/tunnel entrance would not significantly impact flight operations. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds to cross the runway.
As well, a bus service would not mean "easy vehicle access to the island". It would not cause "traffic jams".
The point about the lack of funds is a good one. It would require outside financing (either private financing recovered through passenger fees or government financing).
I know it's been done elsewhere where public throughfares cross airport runways, but just take a look at the type of measures taken to prevent any incursions.
Note the plane has been 'shopped into the photo multiple times. Beyond that the photo is accurate.
The distances are much shorter at the Island than at Pearson and much fewer takeoffs and landings, but your point is taken. How far out must the next incoming plane be before you can allow someone to drive across the runway?
The TPA has said that they plan to use the excavated material from the construction of the tunnel to build a ring road. I don't know whether it will go out around the ends of the runway, though.
I was a ground worker not in air traffic so I don't know what the specifics were. What I did know was that anytime a ground vehicle wanted to cross a runway or taxiway we'd have to radio into the tower and request clearance to cross, and once clearance was granted it was "book it across as quickly and safely as possible" then radio back that we were clear.
A great example is the airport at Gibraltar. The only road out of the territory crosses the runway at grade, but it's sometimes closed for more than 50% of the day during the heavy tourist season.
No, but if it is built to handle vehicles with public money it will be hard to deny people access to it.
Except it's not the public's money in the same sense that public infrastructure is paid for by taxes. The airport authority would fund this through airport improvement fees. As such they get to own and determine who gets to use it and who gets entry and how much they can charge.