Public input sought on airport's carpark plan

A potential long-term plan for the Hawke's Bay Airport carpark development.

With projected passenger growth climbing to 800,000 people, Hawke's Bay Airport is working on carpark improvements.

To do this the facility is asking the public to take part in a survey to gain feedback on suggested improvements to the development.

Airport chief executive Nick Story said part of the project was necessary to accommodate the current and projected growth in passenger numbers to and from the airport, and also to provide people using the facilities at the airport with a seamless and positive experience.

"By 2030 we are anticipating passenger numbers in the vicinity of 800,000 per year, so we need to ensure we have the facilities and services that travellers come to expect when flying," he said.

"We are addressing all areas as the public will see once the update of our master plan has been completed."

Mr Story said the airport management was also reviewing the transportation offering at the airport, as the taxi lane and drop-off and pick-up lane seemed to be consistently congested.

"We are working with the traffic-management team to review how this can work better," he said.

Airport aeronautical and infrastructure manager Olivia Pierre said the purpose of the public consultation was to understand the needs of those using the airport carpark, and to incorporate as many public recommendations as feasible into the development plans.

"We have been working with infrastructure specialist agency Opus to obtain recommendations on how to increase the number of carparks and how we could improve traffic flow in, around and out of the airport," she said.

She said they were evaluating all the elements that go into using the airport carpark and making that a positive experience, from the type of sealed surface used to ticket machines and signage.

"We want to ensure we understand what aspects of the carpark facilities mean the most to our customers, and how we can better improve their experience," she said.

Stage one of the carpark redevelopment was almost complete.

This includes the merging of the short-term P120 carpark and main carpark, to allow for more parking.

Clearly marked pathways leading to the airport entrance and trolley bays are to be completed in the coming weeks.

"We have undertaken some minor modifications to ease congestion and make for a better customer experience, but we really value the public's feedback on what other improvements they would like to see," Ms Pierre said.

She said the airport was looking at extending the secure carpark by about 160 new carpark spaces, as well as upgrading the facilities, with the long-term plan enabling the airport to provide parking for more than 1000 vehicles.

• The public are invited to fill in the survey either online at www.hawkesbayairport.co.nz/car-parking-survey/ or complete a hard-copy version located at a survey station at the airport. The survey closes at 5pm, March 31.