BIG TAKEAWAYS:

  • Port shares Cruise Terminal 16 traffic study results
  • Internal roadways and onsite parking help ease cruise-related traffic impacts
  • Signage, sidewalks and skywalk for pedestrian safety


Galvestonians tell me that the phenomenal growth of our cruise business is great, but then they ask, “What are you doing to manage the traffic?” The short answer is we’re doing a lot! As we finalize plans for CT 16, our fourth cruise terminal, we’re incorporating traffic management lessons learned with our first three terminals into the site plans.

Planning for Growth
Our 20-Year Strategic Master Plan, adopted by the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees in 2019, envisioned doubling the number of cruise terminals and building a 2-mile-long internal roadway to help ease congestion. We opened Cruise Terminal (CT) 10 in 2022 and will open Cruise Terminal (CT) 16 in 2025. Our internal roadway also is nearing completion.

Before building CT 10, we commissioned a traffic study to assess current and future traffic conditions and recommend improvements. Completed in 2020, the study recommended onsite parking, personnel to manage curbside traffic, and separate curbside areas for embarkation and debarkation.

Onsite cruise parking has several benefits. It reduces the amount of cruise-related traffic on Harborside Drive because a cruise passenger turns into the cruise terminal complex and doesn’t leave until after their cruise.

Galvestonians who expected backed up traffic on Harborside when CT 10 opened tell me that they are pleasantly surprised by how efficiently traffic moves on cruise days.

CT 16 Traffic Analysis Results
I’m happy to share with you the results of a recently completed traffic analysis for CT 16. Engineers found that current traffic flows would be maintained at similar levels at intersections after the cruise terminal opens, but they recommended a traffic signal at 16th Street to reduce potential delays during peak periods.

The CT 16 site plan also features an onsite parking garage and ample internal roadways to hold traffic, just like at CT 10. The $55 million parking structure will be designed for an estimated 1,700 vehicles.

Traffic will access the terminal at 14th, 16th and 17th streets. Internal roadways within the terminal complex include the 4-lane Wharf Road between 14th and 16th streets and a 3-lane circulator roadway serving embarking and debarking passengers.

Keeping Pedestrians Safe
Beyond efficient traffic flow, we want to keep pedestrians safe in and around our cruise terminals. With almost 3 million passenger movements in 2023, this can be a challenge. Designated pedestrian crosswalks, sidewalks, more signage, and reopening the skywalk over Harborside Drive at 25th Street are just some of the ways we can do that.

Both the port and the city have received state funding to look at more ways to make our streets safer. As Galveston’s popularity grows as a cruise and tourism destination, managing pedestrian and vehicular traffic will be key to sustainable economic growth.