Area Airport signing on freeways

[PHLBOS]

Similar deal at SMF:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=SMF&hl=en&ll=38.67446,-121.590955&spn=0.006031,0.008529&sll=37.615286,-122.390828&sspn=0.002175,0.002132&t=h&hq=SMF&z=17&layer=c&cbll=38.67446,-121.590955&panoid=UHN-JmXBwL3n7PlBEApEYg&cbp=12,347.33,,0,-9.62

For some reason, those SMF signs look really... nice.

That looks similar to the Futura(?) font that's used on the PHL (Philadelphia International Airport) signage on airport property.

[roadman65]

Pictures of how the San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico is signed on area highways.

[briantroutman]

Similar deal at SMF:

For some reason, those SMF signs look really... nice.

That looks similar to the Futura(?) font that's used on the PHL (Philadelphia International Airport) signage on airport property.

As a graphic designer, I'm pretty sure that the SFO, SMF, and PHL airport signage examples are all different weights of Frutiger, which is used fairly commonly in airports and public transit venues worldwide. (In contrast, Futura has a much sharper and more geometric design with a single story lowercase a.)

As much as I'm a stickler for proper FHWA alphabets and correct signing practices on public roads, I can appreciate when airports and other private entities with complex property layouts develop attractive and consistent signing practices that aren't necessarily MUTCD compliant.

[formulanone]

The logo of the plane used on the signs seems to vary from a little private jet to a Boeing 747, without much regard for which is commonly flown into/out of said airport. The generic plane looks like some sort of huge glider, or is an MD-series with tiny engines.

Sometimes the nose of the aircraft logo points in the direction of the airport, but I usually count on a directional arrow or supplemental information (Next Right, for example).

[The High Plains Traveler]

Minneapolis-St. Paul airport has two separate terminals, accessible via two different exits off I-494. Thus there are two sets of signs with the airlines they each serve, using standard highway gothic.

Terminal 1 is the main terminal, also called the Lindbergh terminal, where virtually all non-charter airlines flew out of when I lived there. It is accessed off of MN-5 (Exit 1A). Terminal 2 is the former Humphrey terminal, used for charter flights and also where the international flights landed because customs were there. The customs terminal moved to the main terminal about 15 years ago.  It's accessed off the 34th Avenue exit (Exit 1B). Since then, the Humphrey terminal has become the home of a number of airlines, so you need to know what terminal you're flying out of. Note that mile 0 on the I-494/694 loop is the Minnesota River, right at the point where these signs are located. The exit just east of these signs is Exit 71.

http://goo.gl/maps/nGnNq lists some of the airlines flying out of Terminal 1 (WB I-494 west of Pilot Knob Road).

http://goo.gl/maps/qxcy5 is the second half of the flights out of Terminal 1.

http://goo.gl/maps/gMjHP lists the airlines flying out of Terminal 2.

None of these show the parking and airline terminal drop-off/pickup signs as you approach the terminals, especially as you loop through Terminal 1.

[agentsteel53]

Minneapolis-St. Paul airport has two separate terminals, accessible via two different exits off I-494.

*shudder*

I remember offering a cab driver a $100 tip if he could get me between terminals before a particular time.

he was doing ~95mph up the 5 freeway.

he didn't make it.  neither did I.  missed my flight by 20 seconds.

terminals separated by miles: probably the worst "brilliant idea in modern future new urbanism hell yeah!" ever; I tell people "yeah, it's called Minneapolis-St. Paul because they put one terminal in Minneapolis, and one in St. Paul."

[J N Winkler]

I remember offering a cab driver a $100 tip if he could get me between terminals before a particular time.

he was doing ~95mph up the 5 freeway.

he didn't make it.  neither did I.  missed my flight by 20 seconds.

Wasn't the Hiawatha LRT available?  That is how I would attempt a terminal transfer within MSP if there was no other alternative actually available on airport property (as I believe is the case, with the exception of a courtesy shuttle which is available for the physically disabled).

[agentsteel53]

Wasn't the Hiawatha LRT available?  That is how I would attempt a terminal transfer within MSP if there was no other alternative actually available on airport property (as I believe is the case, with the exception of a courtesy shuttle which is available for the physically disabled).

I do not remember.  given that I was already coming from an international flight (had to claim luggage, and check it again), I somehow calculated that a cab may be sufficiently faster.

[brownpelican]

How New Orleans Int'l Airport is signed in New Orleans/Metairie/Kenner:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+Orleans&ll=29.963012,-90.09936&spn=0.005456,0.006899&hnear=New+Orleans,+Orleans,+Louisiana&gl=us&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=29.96311,-90.101558&panoid=Blvu8z7z2MPnsJHPnS6Lzw&cbp=12,315.45,,0,0

How Baton Rouge Metro. Airport is signed in Baton Rouge:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Baton+Rouge&hl=en&ll=30.514635,-91.156654&spn=0.005426,0.006899&sll=29.96311,-90.101558&sspn=0.005493,0.006899&gl=us&hnear=Baton+Rouge,+East+Baton+Rouge,+Louisiana&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=30.514372,-91.158696&panoid=lfXoZc1G9laVAtcJ6UW0UA&cbp=12,5.02,,0,9.49

[The High Plains Traveler]

I remember offering a cab driver a $100 tip if he could get me between terminals before a particular time.

he was doing ~95mph up the 5 freeway.

he didn't make it.  neither did I.  missed my flight by 20 seconds.

Wasn't the Hiawatha LRT available?  That is how I would attempt a terminal transfer within MSP if there was no other alternative actually available on airport property (as I believe is the case, with the exception of a courtesy shuttle which is available for the physically disabled).

In the days before LRT, there was a shuttle bus that went between terminals. The bus did not use the public road connection, but rather wound through service roads within the airport. It was particularly useful if you were arriving on an international flight. I wouldn't have counted on it, though, if I had a short connecting time in the other terminal. Nowadays, with the LRT going under the airport, that would be my choice, but I don't know what the typical interval between trains is.

[agentsteel53]

this was Sept. 2008.  I have no idea if there was an LRT then.

[J N Winkler]

this was Sept. 2008.  I have no idea if there was an LRT then.

Wikipedia gives the opening date as June 26, 2004.  Not all of the line as it currently exists opened on that date, since there have been extensions to Target Field and Bloomington (both opened 2009), but the connection between the airport terminals was in place by 2004.  In December 2010 I used the Hiawatha LRT to travel to downtown Minneapolis to see the brand-new I-35W Mississippi River bridge when I had an extended stopover at MSP (arriving from LHR, departing for ICT).

So, yes, the Hiawatha LRT would have been available, and it would have been free between the two terminals (no holdup to buy tickets).  Travel distance would have been less by a factor of at least four, but vehicle speed would have been less by a factor of perhaps three (going up to four with dwell time taken into account).  Metro's schedule search engine is not loading for me at the moment, so I can't comment on train frequency.  (I vaguely remember 4 TPH in the middle of the evening, which was when I was riding it, but I couldn't swear to it.)  The LRT stations are belowground at both airport terminals, so the time required to negotiate stairs (or elevators, with bulky luggage) would also have to be taken into account.

[agentsteel53]

4 tph is about one every 15 minutes, which brings up memories of "crap, the train could be whenever - the cab is right there!"

[architect77]

While interesting, I think it's incomplete to omit the words "Flights" or "Terminals" from about 15 different overheads that are up to 7 miles away from the airport, especially on a principal north-south US interstate. But when has the GDOT thoroughly thought things through? I bet 1/2 the US population couldn't tell you what "Domestic" was actually referring to:

[FreewayDan]

Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is beginning to replace overhead sign gantries along J.F.K. Boulevard.  This is at the beginning of the "freeway" segment of J.F.K. at Greens Road:

New Overhead Sign Gantries along J.F.K. Blvd by FreewayDan, on Flickr

[kkt]

What's the difference between an international airport and an intercontinental airport?

[agentsteel53]

What's the difference between an international airport and an intercontinental airport?

Houston wants to make it known that their airport features much more than "two flights a day to Matamoros".

[MDOTFanFB]

Here's how Detroit Metro Airport is signed:

http://goo.gl/maps/fQ5Av -- from I-94 west at exit 198.

http://goo.gl/maps/H4qKC -- from I-94 east at exit 198.

http://goo.gl/maps/X8eGM -- from I-275 south near exit 15.

http://goo.gl/maps/02Pm1 -- typical signage within the airport.

All signs are current as of the "image date" in each link. Also, the airport also gets mentioned in many other areas nearby, these are just snippets.

[formulanone]

What's the difference between an international airport and an intercontinental airport?

Houston wants to make it known that their airport features much more than "two flights a day to Matamoros".

If anything, the "Intercontinental" tag is like calling your airport a "Jetport"...it just sounds cool. For the most part, several smaller International Airports are really just slightly expanded versions of "Regional" airports.

A regional airport usually feeds back and forth to the closest airline hub, with some light cargo and general aviation to justify its existence. Albany, Georgia has an extreme example of this type of airport; it's kind of the thing that might make a roadgeek cringe...but it sure beats trying to deal with a three-hour haul in rush hour to Atlanta.

[kkt]

What's the difference between an international airport and an intercontinental airport?

Houston wants to make it known that their airport features much more than "two flights a day to Matamoros".

If anything, the "Intercontinental" tag is like calling your airport a "Jetport"...it just sounds cool. For the most part, several smaller International Airports are really just slightly expanded versions of "Regional" airports.

A regional airport usually feeds back and forth to the closest airline hub, with some light cargo and general aviation to justify its existence. Albany, Georgia has an extreme example of this type of airport; it's kind of the thing that might make a roadgeek cringe...but it sure beats trying to deal with a three-hour haul in rush hour to Atlanta.

For a long time (I don't know if this is still true), San Jose (California)'s airport had no international flights, but still called itself San Jose International.  So it became known as San Jose Intergalactic.

[PurdueBill]

Doesn't an International Airport mean that it is equipped for international arrivals/departures (customs/immigration or international trade possible to process onsite, not necessarily staffed 24/7), not necessarily that it actually handles such flights regularly?

[on_wisconsin]

this was Sept. 2008.  I have no idea if there was an LRT then.

Wikipedia gives the opening date as June 26, 2004.  Not all of the line as it currently exists opened on that date, since there have been extensions to Target Field and Bloomington (both opened 2009), but the connection between the airport terminals was in place by 2004.  In December 2010 I used the Hiawatha LRT to travel to downtown Minneapolis to see the brand-new I-35W Mississippi River bridge when I had an extended stopover at MSP (arriving from LHR, departing for ICT).

So, yes, the Hiawatha LRT would have been available, and it would have been free between the two terminals (no holdup to buy tickets).  Travel distance would have been less by a factor of at least four, but vehicle speed would have been less by a factor of perhaps three (going up to four with dwell time taken into account).  Metro's schedule search engine is not loading for me at the moment, so I can't comment on train frequency.  (I vaguely remember 4 TPH in the middle of the evening, which was when I was riding it, but I couldn't swear to it.)  The LRT stations are belowground at both airport terminals, so the time required to negotiate stairs (or elevators, with bulky luggage) would also have to be taken into account.

From metrotransit.org

Milestones achieved:
• Broke ground January 17, 2001
• Completed mining of airport rail tunnels October 2002
• Opened partial service June 26, 2004
• Redesigned bus service to coordinate with rail June and December 2004
• Began full service Dec. 4, 2004, 27 days ahead of schedule

The Target Field station/ extension opened in the late fall of 2009 and the Bloomington station was a infill project. Mall Of America has always been the southern terminus of the now "Blue Line" since full service began.

A full Blue Line schedule can be found here: http://metrotransit.org/Schedules/WebSchedules.aspx?route=901

[Scott5114]

Flights to Montreal or Mexico City would be international but not intercontinental. Flights to Paris, Tokyo or Rio would be intercontinental and international.

But basically, yes, it just sounds cool.

[roadman65]

Newark, NJ (or should I say now Newark-Liberty International) was called an international long before international flights and a customs facility entered the facility.  It was given the name international when both Terminals A & B were opened in 1974 as prior to that when the original terminal that was located at the interchange of US 1 & 9 and Port Street it was just Newark Airport.  The current custom facility that is there was opened in Terminal B back in the early 1990's, and the previous one opened in 1982 (around) in Terminal C.

What is interesting is that other small airports have the name international and probably do not have overseas or intercontinental flights either.

[agentsteel53]

Doesn't an International Airport mean that it is equipped for international arrivals/departures (customs/immigration or international trade possible to process onsite, not necessarily staffed 24/7), not necessarily that it actually handles such flights regularly?

I would imagine that there would be two levels of equipment, one so much more elaborate than the other that to justify it there would need to be regular handling of such flights.

1) some guy in a uniform sits at a temporary desk, figuring out what to do with the emergency landing in Toronto of the Seattle-Boston flight, filled with passengers without passports.

2) an actual customs facility, built from the beginning with such intent.