Parking and rental car facilities at ROA significantly enhance the experience that people have at our airport, and our landside services are actually a major source of revenue. As we look at the next 20 years of growth, we need to consider not only passenger traffic through the terminal, but also the airport roadways and entrance, parking, curbside demand and rental car pick-up and returns as well as the off-airport traffic flowing around the airport.
Our future plans:
Rental Car Expansion: We recently built a new rental car facility, which meets current capacity needs and provides a more pleasant customer experience, but we know we will need to expand this area in the future.
Improved Parking: We know we need to identify areas for increased parking spaces and improved traffic flow, as well as enhanced pedestrian safety to accommodate forecasted increased passenger activity. And, we need to have a plan to expand in response to a positive air service game changer if one comes along. This plan significantly expands, and centralizes all parking, keeping a walkable distance to/from the terminal and minimizes pedestrian crossing busy interchanges. Additionally, ROA continues to focus on new and upcoming vehicle technology in our parking lots – planning for electric vehicle charging and other changes. Our plan will enable flexibility to change the use of our lots to meet future needs based on new technology.
Realign Airport Drive: The ultimate growth plan presents an opportunity to work with Roanoke City to realign Aviation Dr., to create an efficient airport entrance that does not compete or interfere with adjacent shopping center or cut-through traffic.