Hello and good morning! I hope you are all enjoying your self-isolation.
Description:
I’d like to see improved taxiway markings for taxiway crossing points. The taxiway system is integral to every airport, so I’d like to see it given more attention.
Why it should be implemented:
Alternating green and orange centre-line lights on runway entrances/exits and strips of red for lighted stop-bars would add to the realism of a taxiway system. I’d also like to see the double white line on a black background to mark the edge of the manoeuvring area where stands meet taxiways - this is a line that must never be crossed by ground service vehicles unless crossing at a designated crossing point or pushing back an aircraft. Taxiway crossing points should be marked by black and white chequerboard markings on either side of the road where it is crossing the taxiway.
Taxiway crossings with ATC-controlled traffic signals would be interesting too, i,e; traffic needing to cross a busy taxiway could potentially get held-up in a queue of vehicles to wait for a dozen aircraft to pass before being free to cross, which is something I have to put up with daily. It would incentivize the use of tunnels in these cases once the airport gets busier and a/c traffic means moving from one apron to another can be a waiting game.
I saw another thread where a comment suggested dim-able runway and taxiway lighting - I work at an airport in the UK and whenever it’s not busy at night they turn the intensity of the runway lights down, presumably to save energy. I’d quite like to be able to make the lights brighter in Airport CEO as I feel it would make taxiways stand out more and look more visually pleasing. The dimness option would allow people who want more realism to keep the lights turned down, or turned off completely (I understand that IRL taxiway and runway lights are often directional and not as bright from directly above)
And I’d also be interested in being able to give phonetic names to taxiways, such as Taxiway Alpha, or Taxiway Foxtrot, but I think I’ll leave it there.