The U.S. air base at Yokota, Japan, outside of Tokyo is on a sprawling property that depends heavily on occupant-owned vehicles to get around. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked Stanley Consultants how it could improve transportation on the base to increase efficiency.
Yokota Air Base is spread out over 1,750 acres, bisected by an 11,000-foot runway, with sparse alternative forms of transportation. It has a bus route that cycles every hour. In Japan, a country that prides itself with abundant and efficient methods of transportation, U.S. airmen must use personal vehicles to move around the base. The Corp’s goal was to consolidate the base over time and increase infrastructure for active transportation, including bicycle lanes and sidewalks, with less space devoted to vehicles. This would lead to less congestion and promote the health of soldiers.
Stanley Consultants approached the assignment by conducting a base-wide survey to assess the transportation needs and to poll which modes of transportation would be supported. In addition to the survey, which had a high response, planners conducted three days of interviews of base stakeholders for a cross section of opinions from military personnel, military families, civilian workers and operations personnel.
Stanley Consultants followed principles of the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) Installation Master Planning and UFC Civil Engineering for traffic study guidance in this study. They also followed the core UFC principles of sustainable planning that speak to the alternative transportation in developing recommendations for more compact and transit-oriented development.
Stanley Consultants evaluated base streets for accessibility, connectivity and condition, and also evaluated available transit, along with the infrastructure serving pedestrians and cyclists. Access to the gates, their hours of operation and ability to handle after-hours pedestrian traffic were also evaluated. Planners developed short-, mid- and long-term recommendations for base leadership to increase the use of alternative modes of transportation.
The transportation planning study resulted in a list of recommendations that can be inserted into the installation development plan to increase shuttle and bike ridership, reduce parking demand and promote walking. Some of the recommended improvements, including new and widened sidewalks to improve connectivity and striping dedicated bike lanes for safety, have already been implemented.