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Originally Posted by j_deguzman10
Check this out guys I just checked the planning and design for SMF and they have finally released the 2017 executive Master Plan draft summary! Its 36 pages long too! Hopefully this will bring up some talk within this forum!
Ok so what I have read from the Master Plan is that
1. The airport is not ready to commit to the expansion of runway 16L-34R, which I am disappointed in, the airport need a longer runway if the airport desires flights to Europe and larger planes.
2. The only Terminal upgrade planned is a 6 gate expansion of Terminal B or A and the addition of a new baggage claim at Terminal B and a pedestrian walkway linking Terminal B and A. Ok this really bugs me. The airport uses statistics from 2012 to base their forecasts, which the forecasts are way off. SMF is already 1 million passengers ahead of the planned growth. They projected 4.9 million enplaned in 2017; the airport is already of 5 million enplaned. As for the upgrades, I think the airport should invest in Terminals A and B. Terminal A was built with a 10 gate expansion and Terminal B I think was build with at least more than a 6 gate expansion, and at the rate the airport is growing, the board needs to upgrade both Terminals A and B, especially since Terminal A is outdated and pre 9/11 built. Also, with the expansion of Terminal A Terminal B can become a dedicated Southwest terminal while the other carriers operate out of Terminal A, which if expanded to full capacity can host some 22 gates if expanded.
3. There is no plans for a Terminal C or a hotel. I do not think the airport is quite ready for a Terminal C but the hotel part bugs me. Unless the airport can figure out a good way to shuttle passengers between the airport and Metro Air Park a on site hotel is needed desperately. However, as for a proposed Terminal C....
4. Garage B will be built. While this is good, it's great actually the Garage shown in the diagram in the master plan is horrendously oversized. So oversized, that if the airport will consider a Terminal C in the near future there will be little space to connect the main Terminal B with Terminal C.
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If i recall from the last airport master plan, Concourse C wouldn’t get built until the airport passenger traffic goes up to 16 or 18 million (but that was quite awhile ago and i don’t recall all the details.) Technically there is no “Terminal B”; It’s B concourse and the Central Terminal. But we’ve all gotten used to saying “Terminal B”. It’s like in 1985 RT held a naming contest for Light Rail and the winning name for the system was “RT Metro” but everybody kept calling it “light rail” so it stuck. Lol
The idea originally though is (was) to eventually move all ticketing and baggage claim to the central terminal (away from Terminal A). The South facing glass wall (facing towards I-5) was designed so it could be removed, the Central Terminal expanded and connect airside to a third concourse C on the west side of the 2nd parking garage as well as concourse A (both via people movers like they use for B).
Anyway I have no doubt they see what works and what doesn’t and tweak the plan as needed.