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Del Norte County and the Airport Board really have gotten short-changed by the “environmental” process for a new terminal design. The project is located in a rich coastal wetland area, so the most important first step of design is to survey for coastal wetlands. These wetland areas are required to be avoided. But that did not happen. The consultants put the cart before the horse, and pushed ahead with a plan before knowing where the wetlands were. As a result, we now have one of the worst imaginable designs, where the least integral feature — parking — is placed directly on top of what is considered a rare California forested wetland, with beautiful lush wax myrtles, rare beach pines, and spruces. Instead of highlighting the beauty, and building around the forest on already cleared areas, they are paving the forest. They ignored public comment that warned of these wetlands, and suggested ways to avoid them.
A more modest design that is carefully placed should be developed.
Right now at peak times, we have a total of 44 passengers (including
those boarding and arriving), and the FAA estimates that, to
accommodate growth, we should plan for about double, or 90.
This estimate would prescribe a terminal of only 13,500 square feet (150 feet per peak passenger, FAA formula). But we are designing a terminal of 20,000 square feet. Right now, we function with only about 3,000 square feet (our terminal plus boarding-holding area). It is usually not a crowded space, as most of the time, on average, we have 10 passengers boarding, or 34 percent occupancy of a 30-seat plane. Our airport is subsidized, and taxpayers contribute about $1 million to keep the commercial airline here. When I first started analyzing this plan, I went to the airport every day for one week, and asked passengers several simple questions. Are you flying for business, or personal reasons? If business, then is it related to government? And, what do you like about this airport? I discovered that 80 percent of travelers are flying for government business. And to my surprise, a common response was that they liked the small size of the airport. Usually, this terminal is not crowded and functions very well. I agree with other comments, that the bathrooms and portable holding areas are inadequate and need redesign. And I agree that we need a modest terminal expansion to accommodate growth, and that our terminal is vital for emergency purposes. Concerning buses, my comments suggested that buses should stop at our airport and at the Arcata airport, to be used as a supplemental service, and not a replacement strategy. I, like many, cannot afford what it costs just to fly from Crescent City to San Francisco. Arcata recently added Delta flights to Salt Lake City. Those flights take you round-trip across the country, with only one stop at Salt Lake City. So, for me and others like me, it would be useful if our local bus that goes by Arcata daily, could add a stop at the Arcata airport. This would benefit both sets of travelers, those who can or must travel from our airport, and those who need to travel from Arcata. Eileen Cooper is a Crescent City resident. |