Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Public Meeting on Future of Bay Area Airports

Aviation forecasts show air passengers double by 2020

CONTACTS:

Marjorie Blackwell
510.464.7884

Chris Brittle
510.464.7831

OAKLAND, Calif., July 12, 2000 . . . A public meeting to hear comments on preliminary conclusions and recommendations for the update of the Regional Airport System Plan (RASP) will be held Friday, July 14, at 1:30 p.m. in the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter Auditorium, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) are completing an update of the 1994 RASP. This policy document will be used to help make decisions on the need for new airport capacity in the Bay Area and the best ways to handle the growth in air passenger traffic, which is expected to double, and air cargo, which is expected to triple, over the next 20 years.

The plan update includes new aviation forecasts and an analysis of the effectiveness of potential strategies to address projected growth, such as building new runways, shifting air traffic to less crowded airports, implementing new air traffic control technologies, building a high speed rail system, and enacting airport controls on runway use. The plan update also addresses important environmental considerations – including the impact of new runways on the Bay, trends in aircraft overflight noise, air quality and ground access – as well as the seismic vulnerability of runways.

The Regional Airport Planning Committee, a joint planning committee of MTC, ABAG and BCDC, is tentatively scheduled to adopt the RASP update at its next meeting on Friday, July 28, 2000.

Copies of the RASP update are available in main public libraries and on MTC's Web site (www.mtc.ca.gov) and also may be requested by e-mail to the MTC/ABAG Library (library@mtc.ca.gov) or by phone (510.817.5836).

The public is encouraged to comment on the plan update at the meeting, or to send comments to Chris Brittle, MTC planning manager, by July 28. Send written comments to him at MTC, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA 94607; e-mail: <cbrittle@mtc.ca.gov>; fax: 510.817.5848.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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