So I had to pick my sister and her BF up from the Airport last night and I made her meet me at the SkyTrain (its the only way I can force my suburbanite sister into riding public transit). I've used the SkyTrain myself a few times and have used it to pick people up and it always seems rather empty compared to how busy the airport is. I put some thought into how to make it better and wanted your feedback: (some of these can be done easily, some are more long term)
* The Cell Phone waiting lot doesn't have a Flight Arrival board - its maddening.
* Inside the SkyTrain station there's no signage on Flight Arrivals/Departures, very annoying.
* 100% of the signs in the SkyTrain are in English only. Not very "international" for our international airport. They ought to at least also be in Spanish and perhaps Mandarin.
* No WiFi. It sure would be nice to have WiFi, especially for those waiting in the cell lot. I could see a Wifi signal called SkyTrain but it required a password and didn't seem to be public. Or if it was, there was no clear info on how to log on to it.
* There are way too many overnight shutdowns. Whole months, even into 'the season' have overnight shut downs.
* Unlike the airport itself there doesn't seem to be a dog/pet bathroom area. They have plenty of gravel 'gardens', it'd be easy to just add some stands with bags and waste bins
* There isn't nearly enough seating inside the station. I understand its meant just to be a place to pass through, but for senior citizens (like my stepdad who was with me last night) and the handicapped, they need to take a rest every so often and it was difficult.
* Every time I've been to the SkyTrain station there's no human presence of assistance. They need at least one Sky Harbor "Navigator" in there.
* There are no TVs, or even "Welcome to Phoenix/Arizona" video boards in the place. It all feels very empty, quite and creepy.
* There's no info on how to get a cab once you leave the SkyTrain. There's a place for cabs to pick you up, but how about some signage with local taxi's phone numbers listed.
* Amazingly there's no maps or timetables for buses and the LRT. There are city buses puling in and out but unless you have the whole Metro map memorized, you'd have no idea where they're going.
* If you're picking someone up w/ your car and want to leave your car to go inside, you have to pay for a meter. The meters are $2/hour, always. I was literally the only person in the lot at 7:30 last night and still had to avoid dozens of empty "stay in your car" spots, to pay $2. I'm fine with all the spaces being paid, but make them smart meters.
* Too few people use the SkyTrain b/c its easier to just go to the airport. We spent $1B on this thing, lets get people using it. Phase out in-airport cell phone waiting lots and consider levying a toll on in airport traffic (something nominal like $2, to encourage mass transit use).
* The early bag check in hours are too limited (M-F, 6a-1p).
* The employee lot is a surface lot, it needs to be a larger garage. Push most Sky Harbor employee parking to a future garage there and have them take SkyTrain into the airport.
* A neighborhood/area map would be nice. Tell people that there are nice things nearby like the
Pueblo Grande Museum. The city is paying to operate Pueblo Grande, you'd think they'd try to promote it and direct people there.
* Nothing about the station says "Phoenix" or "Arizona". There are huge empty spaces and blank walls. Posters of Phoenix and AZ landmarks, displays of Native artwork, etc would be nice. The airport itself does a nice job of this with their in airport art collection ,it needs to expand to the SkyTrain station.
* Hopefully/eventually there will need to be more bike racks and long term bike storage.
* Canal between Washington and 44th St needs to be "canal scaped"/beautified. Canals are a big part of what makes Phoenix unique. This little section ought to be much more lush, have signs showing how it connects to a larger bike/ped network, etc. Right now it's just as ugly as most of our under utilized canals.
* Make sure to properly plan how the SkyTrain will integrate w/ a future Commuter Rail station. A Commuter Rail Station will likely sit just south of where the employee lot currently sits. If that lot was a garage it could also be a park and ride. Those using Commuter Rail could board on the ground level and the station could be 2 levels, with a long walkway w/ moving sidewalks connecting on the 2nd level of the SkyTrain--then people can switch to either SkyTrain or LRT.
I know thats a lot, but...thoughts? I was really frustrated last night by all the small details that seemed to be missing that can take a place or piece of infrastructure from good to great.