Forum: Make road signs around Changi Airport more useful

I recently drove to Changi Airport in the evening to drop my wife off at the Terminal 3 departure hall.

Despite being a frequent visitor, I found the density of text on the overhead gantries difficult to process. I found myself inadvertently diverted to the T3 carpark instead.

With the construction of Terminal 5, the “information overload” on roads around the airport is becoming a growing source of driver stress.

We should move from signs that need to be read, to signs that can be recognised instantly.

I suggest three enhancements.

The first is colour coding. The human brain processes colour faster than text. Changi Airport could assign a distinct colour to each terminal – for instance, red for T1, blue for T2 and green for T3. Having “lane shields” painted on the road means drivers wouldn’t need to squint at boards. They would simply stay in the “green lane” for T3.

This strategy has been used successfully at airports like Dallas Fort Worth’s and Amsterdam’s Schiphol to prevent last-minute swerving.

The second is zonal information filtering. Currently, signs list every terminal, creating visual noise. We should adopt a “progressive” strategy – far-out signs should indicate only “Terminals 1 & 3” or “Terminals 2 & 4”. Specific terminal splits should appear only as the driver nears the actual fork.

Third, we should enhance night-time visibility. My evening experience showed how shadows can obscure reflective signs. Implementing self-illuminated LED borders for critical “last-chance” exit signs would help motorists greatly.

By making our road navigation more intuitive, we can ensure the Changi experience begins with ease the moment a driver enters the airport perimeter.

Chua Guan Hwa