As a 25-year Renton council member and 33-year engineer and manager, I’m currently running to fill the open seat of Renton Mayor. Please review my work here to see how I’ve helped you. I have made over a thousand detailed entries in this blog as I’ve worked to improve our city, keep you informed, and resolve the issues important to you. Use the search box in the upper right to find entries on specific topics, or click on the categories on the right for highlights. Learn more about my qualifications and my campaign by clicking here
Daily archives for July 17th, 2019
We should review the assumptions in our Airport Master Plan
Author’s note 4/8/2024: The Master Plan Update and Runway length extension described in this blog entry were not implemented (as of this update.) In the months after I wrote this entry, our aviation community and Renton leadership hired and aviation attorney and pushed back on the runway extension proposal. Then the pandemic began and reduced air traffic world-wide, including in Renton. The lower traffic no longer merited a debate about runway length extension. There was a seperate update to the Airport Layout Plan (a companion document that does not alter the runway) completed in 2022.
In this blog entry I describe critical issues at Renton Airport that must be resolved carefully to avoid negatively impacting the future of the airport and our city. 6.2 billion dollars a year in revenue, historic homes and neighborhoods, and thousands of jobs could all be impacted in various ways if the current Master Plan process is not sensitive to the needs of our unique airport and our community. I suggest we carefully re-review the underlying assumptions made by the airport consultants that are causing so much impact, in collaboration with FAA, airport businesses, neighborhoods, and other stakeholders.
In particular, we should focus on the assumption that 737s are the “critical aircraft” for purposes of sizing the airport safety zones, since 737s takeoff from Renton but rarely land here. (Landings are more hazardous than takeoffs and need greater safety margins.) Furthermore, when 737s do takeoff from Renton they are brand new, recently tested, and lightly loaded. We delivered even larger 757s safely and routinely from this airport for two decades, and never had any issues. Smaller aircraft that are engaged in normal operation at Renton would be more appropriate to size the airport runway and safety zones. The FAA Advisory Circulars allow for some leeway, and we should utilize it to protect our community and businesses.
Recent Comments