LAX Billion Dollar People Mover Addition Adds to the Mess

In the drawing it looks beautiful and simple--the proposed People Mover running through the middle of the Central Terminal Area (CTA) at LAX.  It jogs around the Theme Building and has three stations where passengers take moving walkways to the existing terminals.  

The People Mover trains are designed to carry people between the Central Terminal Area and three Intermodal Transfer Facilities (ITF).  The concept is that access to LAX will become easier because, and this is where I get confused, because, why?

Before I discuss this take a look at some of the other pretty pictures:

But here's the rub:  

The People Mover connects many buildings along its 2 1/4 mile route that have pick-up and drop-off locations.  This is in addition to the locations in the newly renovated Central Terminal Area.  And of course they all have parking garages.  So where to go to meet someone or drop them off?  

Everyone is going to head to the Central Terminal Area, especially if you have luggage.  There's lots of parking and new curb facilities.  But if someone did want to drive and use the Intermodal Transfer Facilities, good-luck finding them, none are on major streets.  

What can be said about this design is that it will eliminate rental car shuttle busses and make it easier to arrive by train.  It might eliminate other shuttle buses, if they are forced to, freeing up Central Terminal Area traffic.  

The problem with the train, however, is the majority of riders will need to change trains before they get to the People Mover because it does not travel a centralized or high-density route.

Oh, and roads will be improved too.  But if the roads are improved and busses eliminated from the CTA, more people will drive (Induced Demand).

Besides the wayward train, here are the new ways to access LAX:

THERE ARE BETTER WAYS

I have long been fascinated by the opportunities to improve the LAX experience and improve access.  These latest proposals come close to a design I proposed years ago, here's the link:  http://laxflightways.blogspot.com

Another idea is to eliminate parking in the Central Terminal Area and turn it into gardens.  This would not only encourage the use of  ITF parking but create an incredibly calming and beautiful space amid the chaos of LAX.  

And how about experimenting with self-driving vehicles that leave from the ITF where a person steps from a private vehicle right into a google car that takes them to the terminal?  

The best opportunity at LAX revolves around the simplicity of it's design, a "U" shaped plan with the Theme Building in the middle.  If designed properly this simple urban form can provide a sense of place and direction that makes it easy for the user to digest and manage.    

In these designs the moving sidewalks are draped with arcs that mimic the arcs of the Theme Building.  Otherwise the sidewalks are similar to the proposal at the top of this page.