Melbourne Airport to change parking arrangements in bid to tackle congestion
Melbourne Airport will introduce a slew of changes to parking in a bid to cut congestion outside of Tullamarine’s busy terminals and make it easier for those wanting “short and sweet” spaces.
VIC News
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Parking at Melbourne Airport will be overhauled in a new bid to cut congestion outside of Tullamarine’s busy terminals.
Motorists visiting the airport for less than six hours can now park at “short and sweet” spaces that are closer the main terminals and pre-booked taxis and hire cars will have their own entry and exit points.
Centre Rd will also be upgraded with a second turning lane on to Terminal Drive and dynamic lane signs will help direct drivers to lanes.
The changes are the first in a series of improvements paving the way for a massive upgrade of the airport to handle surging passenger growth and a future train station.
Melbourne Airport’s chief of parking and ground access, Lorie Argus, said the changes had come after studying movements around the airport.
“The thing we heard from people coming in for one to three hours is that they want to be closer to the terminal and not at the top of the building,” she said.
“The new parking spaces should allow for that and it provides a dedicated area for the people that are picking up loves ones.
“The 10-minute parking area hasn’t had as much traction as we had hoped so we are also turning some of that space over to pre-booked taxis and hire cars.
“If we can segregate those flows of traffic it will get people in and out of the area much faster.”
Ms Argus said the airport was doing everything it could to cope with the surging growth of cars on roads around the terminals.
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“It is a whole bunch of Lego blocks that we continue to move around,” she said.
“One challenge is the change in consumer behaviour as more people use taxis and ride share.
“We’ve just continued to evolve our infrastructure to keep up with those changing demands.
Ms Argus said in January crews would start building the first of the airport’s new elevated roads.
“That is massive for our customers as it will give direct access straight into the Terminal 4 area from the Tullamarine Freeway.”