Airport study proposes signage, circulation changes and cell-phone lot to ease terminal traffic
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Summary
A FAA-funded terminal roadway planning study recommended a tiered set of improvements — short-term signage and striping fixes, medium-term geometric changes and a long-term option — to reduce confusion and curb backups at Minot International Airport.
Minot International Airport staff and consultant planners presented a terminal roadway planning study on July 7 that proposes a staged approach to reduce driver confusion, limit curb backups and improve safety at the terminal curb front.
The FAA-funded study grouped recommendations into short-, medium- and long-term measures. Short-term fixes are low-cost items that staff can implement quickly: clearer wayfinding signs, renaming parking areas from “short/long term” to “premium/economy,” pavement markings and better communications for rental car operations and drop-off points. The airport plans to move some of these short-term changes forward using in-house resources rather than waiting for federal procurement processes.
Medium-term options include separating rental-car parking from premium short-term parking with distinct access points, creating separate entrances to reduce decision points for arriving drivers, making the entrance through the s‑curve two lanes (or relocating it to reduce conflict), and designating a cell-phone waiting lot to remove circling traffic from the terminal roadway. Engineers said the cell-phone lot could be developed on an existing lot that needs resurfacing but would provide a place for drivers to wait until arriving passengers are ready, reducing curb-front backups.
Long-term options refine medium-term circulation changes and, if needed, reorient certain entrances and permanent pavement work to separate destinations and keep rental and short-term traffic away from the curb front.
Planners estimated a high-level cost range for the concepts (short-term ~ $250,000; medium-term ~ $300,000; long-term ~ $100,000) and noted that some project components (parking lot surfacing or rental-car lot work) are revenue-related and may not qualify for FAA AIP funding. The consultants and airport staff emphasized that implementation can be staged: staff may implement signage and other low-cost actions immediately, measure the results and then decide on larger geometric changes.
Council members asked technical questions but generally accepted the staged approach. Airport staff said they will begin implementing low-cost signage and marking changes and continue to evaluate the higher-cost options as traffic patterns and funding permit.
