April 21–Fort Lauderdale's airport of the future has elevated trams to get around, an on-site hotel that's convenient for an overnight layover and more restaurants and concessions for ticketed passengers waiting to catch a flight.

Within 20 years, the airport expects nearly double the passengers it has today, meaning there's plenty that needs to be done to make sure travelers have an "easy in, easy out" experience.

To do that, the airport will add airplane gates, connect its four terminals with hallway-like passageways, reconfigure the terminal roadway to reduce congestion and provide a larger cell-phone parking lot for people waiting for planes to arrive.

The number of passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport increased 23.4 percent in the past five years and it's expected to be the country's No. 1 airport in growth through 2035.

But the airport, one of the country's smallest in acreage, has little room for growth outside its current borders, so most improvements will have to be squeezed into existing space.

"We want to avoid being victims of our own success," Broward Commissioner Tim Ryan said. "With this rapid expansion, we haven't been able to keep up."

Proposals will be fleshed out over the next year. The cost of the improvements won't be paid for by Broward taxpayers, but will come from grants, airport revenues — such as ticketing, landing and car rental fees — and from general fees paid by the airport's airlines, which have a say in the overall plans.

Making it easier to get around

"There are four large hub airports in the state of Florida," airport director Mark Gale said. "We are the only one that continues to move our passengers around with shuttle buses."

The other three — Miami, Tampa and Orlando — all have automated tram systems to move travelers. Fort Lauderdale's system could be a loop between terminals and garages that would connect with a stop for the future Brightline or Tri-Rail Coastal Link passenger rail services.

There's even potential for a northern extension that would go out to Port Everglades to serve cruise ship passengers and people going to the county's convention center.

Inside the terminals

Today's existing terminals are like islands. Travelers have to leave one to get to another. That would change by creating passageways between terminals for travelers who have already passed through security.

Such a connection only exists now between Terminals 3 and 4, where some passengers go through security in one terminal and board their flight in the other.

Having corridors connecting all the terminals will make it easier for travelers with connecting flights on different airlines. Passengers waiting for flights or enduring a delay could check out restaurants and shopping in other terminals.

There will also be more airplane gates to serve the growing number of passengers — and more concessions for them to use.

The 29 million passengers in 2016 are expected to increase to 53 million by 2035, with current renovations bringing the number of gates from 57 to 66.

"Those 66 gates are inadequate to serve the type of demand that we're facing," Gale said.

Within 20 years, the total number of gates would be 85, with room for 10 more later. Those gates would have enough space for the larger planes used for international travel, a growing segment of the airport's business.

Improving traffic flow

One of the most urgent priorities is reducing congestion on the road outside baggage claim, which is already at gridlock conditions in front of Terminals 3 and 4.

One way to keep traffic moving would be signalized pedestrian crosswalks. People would have to wait for a light before crossing between terminals and garages, rather than continually interrupting traffic on the road as they do now.

Part of the gridlock in front of Terminal 4 is caused by cars coming out of the Cypress Garage and Rental Car Center where there's very little room to maneuver to get into the right lanes for exiting the airport. The exit would be realigned and the garage traffic would easily be able to get into lanes to southbound U.S. 1 or to northbound U.S. 1 and Interstate 595.

"This is probably something we could get done in two to three years," Gale said of the proposed traffic flow changes.

Other plans include a bigger cell-phone lot for people waiting to pick-up travelers, going from 44 spaces to about 150. The airport's economy parking lot recently closed and will now be used by airport employees, but a new economy lot could emerge just south of the old lot or at another location at the airport.

Place to stay

One thing the airport hasn't had is convenient lodging for travelers.

"Every major airport that I've flown in and out of has a hotel on site," Broward Mayor Barbara Sharief said. "I think that's a good idea."

There's room for a hotel at the Fort Lauderdale airport, but the four-level Palm Garage will have to be demolished to build it. The Palm Garage, the oldest at the airport, would be replaced by a nine-level combined hotel and parking garage, Gale said.

Planners haven't figured out the details of a hotel, although Gale said it would probably be built through "some type of public-private partnership."

The new structure, besides adding hotel space and more parking, could also be another way to solve the airport's roadway congestion. The building could be elevated so its ground level is completely open. That would provide additional curb space and could get charter buses that take longer to load and unload passengers out of the roadway.

The growing pains of becoming a premier airport come with construction, demolition and travel nightmares for anyone using the airport, officials acknowledge.

"Growth is always painful and change can bring anxiety, but I think that when we're talking about the long-term viability of our asset and being competitive, we have to think outside the box," Sharief said. "This is a bold move, but it is a move in the right direction."

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