Okaloosa County BOCC — September 3, 2013 — Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis — reading text

CELL PHONE WAITING AREA FEASIBILITY AND ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS for NORTHWEST FLORIDA REGIONAL AIRPORT EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA September 2013 Prepared for: Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners NORTHWEST FLORIDA / x a e_— 6 | Yves . is REGIONAL AIRPORT Prepared by: AVCON AVCON, INC. Engineers & Planners AVCON Project: 2013.050.05 Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis Northwest Florida Regional Airport Eglin Air Force Base, Florida September 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS IEP OD UCEON sccsrsncessnanevesmcasncnnamnermenacenmmwancnemasaamnsavaieccerenerenecocrnsorenaserssrnesorvesenensenese 1 Feasibility AnalySis ..............:::ccssscecssseecesseeesssesessseeeeeesseneesessneesesseneseseneesssanessseneess 1 A 3 3.1 Alternative NO. 1... ecececceccseesseecsseseseeeesseecsseeeecssesessesessesessseeesesersesensesenstees 3 pa PUBSrTiative NO. 2 essmewessvese seins sii08 26809 ondne nonnecmencenecnurmenatuen anansunenaneienenneneansaonnen 4 3.3 Alternative NO. 3 iii iececeeecseceeeeseeeeectseeessseeecsseeesstecsseeessesesseeessaeeeseees 7 3.4 — Alternative NO. 4 ooo... eeccccccecssecsseesseeecseeecsseeesessescssesecseesessesesaesesueseseseiees 8 3.5 Recommended Development Alternative .......000.....cccecsscceeeeeessseeeeeeentseeeens 11 Contact Information .........cccccccecccccececccccccncccececenssssessecccescccceccceessssssssssesseceecaneenens 12 Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis Northwest Florida Regional Airport Eglin Air Force Base, Florida September 2013 1. Introduction Cell Phone Waiting Areas (CWA) are an emerging trend among commercial service airports over the past decade. These waiting areas provide temporary parking for people before picking up arriving passengers. Typically, the driver is contacted by cell phone by an arriving passenger before the driver proceeds towards the terminal curb. The purposes of these waiting areas are to reduce congestion at the terminal curb front, to prevent cars from continuously circling around the airport, and provide a free alternative to short-term parking for passenger pick-up. The purpose of this planning study is to determine the feasibility of constructing a CWA at the Northwest Florida Regional Airport (NWFRA) and provide an alternatives analysis of four potential development locations. The alternatives analysis includes a preliminary budget for each alternative and culminates with a recommended development alternative based on the analysis. 2. Feasibility Analysis During the initial coordination stage of this project with Okaloosa County Airports, four potential locations were identified by the Airport which may accommodate the CWA development due to their locations along the terminal loop road. These four locations are identified in Exhibit 1. Alternative No. 1 is located in the northeast corner of the existing Credit Card Parking Lot, Alternative No. 2 is located along the north side of the north terminal loop road, Alternative No. 3 is located in the south lane of the terminal bypass road, and Alternative No. 4 is located on the east side of the terminal loop road just prior to the exit from the airport. The Airport also provided the minimum development criteria for the CWA which are provided below: e Accommodate approximately 30 parking spaces, e Provide efficient access to the terminal loop road, e Provide space to install an overhead large-format Flight Information Display System (FIDS) message board which is visible from the parking spaces, and e Provide WiFi at the CWA. In an effort to provide up-to-date arrival flight information to the CWA users, a large-format outdoor FIDS message board is proposed adjacent to this parking area. This message board would provide information regarding the airline, flight number, origination city, and status. Based on the number of average daily arrivals, the message board is would include approximately seven lines of data which will be updated throughout the day as flights arrive. The Galaxy 16mm RGB Outdoor LED Matrix Display 3550 Series by Daktronics is a typical message board that meets the requirements of this project. CREDIT CARD PARKING LOT North ° 100 200 GRAPHIC SCALE IN FEET "3200 OKALOOSA COUNTY AIRPORTS ENGINEEES 4 PLAGE RS NORTHWEST FLORIDA REGIONAL AIRPORT CELL PHONE WAITING AREA FEASIBILITY AND ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS CELL PHONE WAITING AREA ALTERNATIVES REVISIONS: — —<———— ol sare [sy [oescarnon DESIGNED BY: JRC. DRAWN BY: JAW. CHECKED BY: IRE, APPROVED BY: vou DATE: SEPTEMBER 2013 AVCON PROJECT NO. 2013.050.05 EXHIBIT 1 Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis September 2013 The airport currently utilizes a FIDS hardware/software system inside of the terminal which provides arrival and departure flight information to passengers on LCD monitors. This system is currently maintained and updated as needed by Infax, Inc. The outdoor FIDS message board would require a reconfiguration of the existing FIDS hardware/software system inside of the terminal due to the type of signal that is required by the outdoor FIDS message board. Once these improvements are implemented, a communication line (preferably fiber optic cable) is required from the primary FIDS computer in the terminal to the proposed FIDS message board location near the CWA. A media converter shall be located at each end of the communication line to transfer the signal over the communication line and provide a useable signal at the FIDS. Free WiFi may be provided by the airport for CWA users by installing a WiFi access point near the CWA. A typical model for this type of application is the Hawking Technology High-Gain Outdoor Wireless-300N Multifunction Access Point, Model Number HOWABN‘1, which provides a maximum range of 800 ft. A fiber optic communication line would be required between the airport terminal and the access point to provide the internet signal. Alternative No. 1 appears to provide sufficient space to accommodate the desired number of parking spaces, and existing fiber optic communication infrastructure is located only 250 ft west of the FIDS message board location. This alternative also provides efficient access to the terminal loop road. Based on the feasibility, this location is included in the alternatives analysis in Section 3. Alternative No. 2 provides adequate space to accommodate at least 30 parallel parking spaces with minor widening of the north terminal loop road. The nearest fiber optic communication panel is located just west of the entrance to the Credit Card Parking Lot so approximately 550 If of underground fiber optic improvements would be required to be installed from this existing fiber optic panel to the FIDS message board. It appears that a portion of the communication infrastructure improvements would be located under existing pavement which necessitates the use of directional drill installation which is standard practice for this type of work. This alternative appears to be feasible and is included in the alternatives analysis section. Alternative No. 3 constitutes the south lane of the terminal bypass road and requires minimal infrastructure improvements to function as a CWA. The nearest communication infrastructure is located just northwest of the Baldwin Building which is approximately 175 If from the FIDS message board. The communication improvements between the existing communication infrastructure and the FIDS message board can be installed using standard construction techniques. The development space provided by this area does not appear to be large enough to accommodate the target number of parking spaces; however, due to the relatively low development cost and construction time required to convert this area to the CWA, this alternative is carried through to the alternatives analysis section. Alternative No. 4 consists of a new waiting area along the east side of the terminal loop road. It does not appear that this development alternative provides adequate development space to accommodate 30 parking spaces; however, this area does provide efficient access to the terminal loop road and a beneficial use of a landscaped area which does not currently serve another airport function. This alternative is carried through to the alternatives analysis section. The advantages and disadvantages of each alternative are analyzed in Section 3. Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis September 2013 3. Alternatives Analysis An analysis of each alternative is presented in this section to consider how well each alternative addresses the stated development criteria, cost, and overall considerations. This analysis will establish a basis for identifying a recommended development alternative. 3.1 Alternative No. 1: Credit Card Parking Lot Alternative No. 1 constitutes a re-allocation of a portion of the northwest corner of the existing Credit Card Parking Lot as depicted in Exhibit 2. This layout offers 41 parking spaces for the CWA and efficient access to the terminal loop road. Users will exit the CWA just west of the terminal pick-up location. The proposed FIDS message board is located northeast of the parking area. Of the 41 parking spaces, 37 of the parking spaces are within the 160-degree readability angle recommended by the manufacturer of the message board. The communication line improvements would be installed between the Photo 1: Alternative No. 1 existing fiber optic panel location just west of the entrance to the Credit Card Parking Lot with a run distance estimated at 250 If. The sidewalk between this alternative and the terminal loop road is equipped with a covered walkway as identified in Exhibit 2 and both the || edi entry and exit drives would cross this covered [agp igre walkway. Columns supporting this covered Bs ol RRR 7] BE. walkway are located within the entry and exit Bs drives; therefore, a minimum 24-ft section of the covered walkway at both the entry and exit drive locations must be removed to accommodate ingress and egress from this waiting area. The canopy columns along the north edge of the existing parking lot are depicted in Photo 2. No new parking lot lighting is proposed as the existing Photo 2: Covered walkway north of parking area is adequately illuminated with Alternative No. 1 existing parking lot lighting. North 0 20 40 GRAPHIC SCALE IN FEET ir 240" f OKALOOSA COUNTY ) AIRPORTS AVCON AVCON, INC. EXGINEEIO 4 PLUCERS _ NORTHWEST FLORIDA REGIONAL AIRPORT CELL PHONE WAITING AREA FEASIBILITY AND ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS ALTERNATE NO. 1: CREDIT CARD PARKING LOT (41 SPACES) Taaons See [er [onsen DESIGNED BY: IRC. DRAWN BY: JAW. CHECKED BY: JRC. APPROVED BY: vic OATE: SEPTEMBER 2013 AYCON PROJECT NO. 2013.050.05 EXHIBIT 2 Cell Phone Waiting Area Feasibility and Alternatives Analysis September 2013 The construction items required to modify the existing parking lot include the following: A. A new concrete island along the southern limits of the CWA to delineate the CWA from the Credit Card Parking Lot, Removal of existing concrete curb, concrete sidewalk, and accommodate new one-way entry and exit drives, Removal of existing concrete island in the southwest corner of the CWA, Removal of approximately 48 ft (24 ft for entry and 24 ft for exit) of the existing covered walkway, Pavement remarking of the CWA and affected portion of the Credit Card Parking Lot, Placement of new asphalt one-way entry and exit drives and concrete curbs, Installation of vehicular signage, Installation of FIDS message board and communication and power infrastructure to terminal, and Installation of communication and WiFi access point infrastructure. landscaping to 99 mrQimm A preliminary project budget, including professional services, is included below in Table 1. The Professional Design and Bidding Services task does not include construction phase or inspection services pursuant to direction provided by the