By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — Military officials shot down an option that would put a joint use airport facility at North Island Naval Air Station or Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. A Nov. 14 presentation made to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Strategic Planning Committee, argued that both base sites are incompatible for commercial and military aviation joint use, and that they would not meet the needs of future growth.
“We're here to help you avoid getting on a track that will lead to ultimate failure,” Navy Commander Mike Phillips told the committee. Authority board members, however, deflected those comments, saying the military has to be part of the region’s long-term airport needs.
“We’re going to be meticulous and really turn over every rock to find a solution,” said committee member William Lynch. “Every site is going to have its specific problems.”
Lynch and other panel members also told the soldiers that the military cannot simply say “no” and walk away from the discussion.
“We're hoping to get someone at the military bases to take a hard look and see if we can find some way to solve this problem,” Lynch said.
After hearing those presentations, authority board member William Lynch said county residents generally view Miramar as the most logical site for a new airport because of its central location in northeastern San Diego and its easy freeway access.
Under a plan that will be considered by the full airport authority board on Dec. 5, each of the military sites will get a full study, including consideration of what could happen five, 10 or 15 years from now.
“Miramar is the future for San Diego and the people would appreciate a new airport being located there,” Poway resident Don Connors said.
Sandor Shapery, a member of a San Diego Association of Governments advisory committee, said the state legislation that mandates the authority consider military sites requires that it “leave no stone unturned.”
“Don't be dissuaded by the fact it may have to be in someone else's backyard,” Shapery said.
The authority had refrained from considering any of the county's military bases until the latest round of nationwide base closures and realignments was completed, a process that recently ended.
The airport authority has a self-imposed April deadline to come up with a recommendation to county voters and what it believes is the best option to meet expected growth in air passenger and cargo demand. Lindbergh Field is currently the busiest single-runway airport in the nation and is forecast to be out of space to handle projected growth within about 10 years.
The authority has been working since 2003 to come up with a solution, winnowing a list of more than 30 potential sites down to three civilian possibilities and the base sites.
The civilian sites include expansion of the 612-acre Lindbergh Field, the Campo/Boulevard site of over 3,000 acres, and a site just over the Imperial County line. The base sites include Camp Pendleton, Miramar, North Island and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.
|
There are nine sites
remaining on the short list of possible places to build
a new international airport. The civilian sites include expansion of the 612-acre Lindbergh Field, the Campo/Boulevard site of over 3,000 acres, and a site just over the Imperial County line. The base sites include Camp Pendleton, Miramar, North Island and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.
Footprint sizes greater than thought
According to airport authority staff, the concept airport “footprints” that have been displayed and used to find suitable sites for a new airport in the county, are not necessarily what the airport could look like. At the recent authority strategic planning committee meeting held Monday, Nov. 14. authority planning staff explained to board members that during Tier 1 of the site selection process, the board created a concept of what an airport would look like, a 3,000 acre footprint. However, according to authority president Thella Bowens, each site would actually be designed to best fit the specific area. For instance, in Campo, because of the specific topography of the area, the runway would need to be much longer and the area between the runways must be expanded. According to staff the Campo site would require 7,000 feet separating each runway, up from the 4,300 that the current footprints show. Below, is the footprint for the Campo/Boulevard site.
5 more lanes on I-8
A highway study recently presented to the airport authority by consultants Ricondo and Associates concludes that I-8 would need to be widened by as many as five lanes in some places between I-15 and the new airport in order to accommodate airport traffic into the city. The map above shows some of the road expansions that would be required, including the addition of two lanes on eastbound interstate 8 out to the airport site, and single and double lane increases westbound, back toward San Diego.
Mag-lev trains for airport patrons
A mag-lev high speed rail line could carry travellers to a remote airport site and authority officials were presented with three possible rail routes. The map above shows all three options: a line along I-8, a line which meanders along Highway 94, or a third option which would shoot in a straight line to the site.
Lake Morena slated as airport water source
Utility hook-ups for a major international airport are a concern for many county residents who understand that the majority of the Back Country is fed on groundwater. According to airport authority staff, via a map created as part of an update presentation, water for the Campo/Boulevard airport site would be fed
from the nearby Lake Morena reservoir. Under the plan,
water would be brought up from Otay Lakes to Lake Morena.
The plan would require agreements with a variety of
entities, including San Diego County Water Authority,
Otay Water District, LAFCO and Metropolitan Water
District. Other utilities, such as electricity, will be carried along I-8, on mostly pre-existing lines, to the airport site. The next step for the airport
authority board and staff is the completion of technical work on the remaining civilian sites. At the Dec. 5 board meeting, members will instruct staff on how to begin the study of military base sites, and at the Dec. 12 meeting of the
strategic planning committee, staff will present the board with civilian site cost information.
|
This
week's print edition 
Staff
