Analysis of the Impact on the Safety and Sustainability of Vehicular Traffic in the Landside Area of Olbia - Costa Smeralda- Airport

Abstract

The quality and efficiency of the landside area of an airport are strongly conditioned by the circulation of the internal mobility that must be efficient and safe at the same time. Key elements in this regard are: (1) the curbisde highway, (2) the roads that wind around the terminal area and (3) the parking areas. The traffic on the roads serving the airport area is clearly distinguished from that on ordinary roads (urban and suburban) both because of the geometry, strongly conditioned by limited space, both for the different traffic composition and the expectations of their drivers. The concentration of a multitude of structures with different functionalities, located in relatively small areas, means that the signage are abundant and complex to code quickly, especially for those users who are unfamiliar with the infrastructure and who represent the dominant share of users. In addition, the latter live with regular users (mainly private transport operators) who have a casual drive. This is the scenario that is the background to the study whose concrete case concerned the Airport of Olbia Costa Smeralda. In the Sardinian airport, in July 2019, some rental operators/ remote parking won the appeal to the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) for the annulment of the ENAC Order and in this case the section concerning the limitation of the free admission to only three entrances to the parking area in front of the terminal and called Short term parking. The aim of the study is to analyze the traffic flows resulting from the application of this amendment and to assess its effects in terms of traffic efficiency and the safety of users.