New airport near Tumwater?

[MechAndy]

Having another airport sounds nice.
The reality I’ve seen with the San Jose and the Sacramento is that they are way overpriced for the average consumer and used mainly for business.
My family member that live to those airports will actually drive a good 90 plus minutes or so to save money on airfare.

[Diana Holbrook]

Yes, I do hope the idea for the one near here is dead.

I did see that Yakima wants it.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Yes, I do hope the idea for the one near here is dead.

I did see that Yakima wants it.

No, it won’t work in Yakima as they would need high speed transportation to the Seattle metro that simply doesn’t exist. It is perhaps in the long term future, but likely not for 2-3 decades.

Problem is there is little room for a new airport in the Puget Sound region due to its complex topography and waterways.

However I still think Paine Field in Everett could increase flights but I understand this would require major changes both within the city and with Paine

[Diana Holbrook]

This is all about long term future. This airport plan, once decided, won't be finished for 20 years.

It's not about serving the current population, it's about serving the future population growth that will be encouraged by the new airport.

The new airport won't serve Seattle. It will serve the metro area that grows up around it.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

This is all about long term future. This airport plan, once decided, won't be finished for 20 years.

It's not about serving the current population, it's about serving the future population growth that will be encouraged by the new airport.

The new airport won't serve Seattle. It will serve the metro area that grows up around it.

Agreed, but getting there is NOT half the fun. Again where do put this new airport? Kitsap county? Not unless there is high speed rail. Which doesn’t seem likely anytime soon.

[grega94]

So looks like they are rebooting the study after the “stop the airport” protest. This new study will focus on expanding existing airports and proposed green sights can be vetoed.

https://www.king5.com/amp/article/tr...d-d55095cc49ec

But if I remember correctly of all the existing airports, the only one with enough room to support a major expansion was the one in Bremerton? But Bremerton won’t really be effective unless they expand the high speed ferry system or better yet build a tunnel under the Puget sound, all of which would be expensive.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by grega94

But if I remember correctly of all the existing airports, the only one with enough room to support a major expansion was the one in Bremerton? But Bremerton won’t really be effective unless they expand the high speed ferry system or better yet build a tunnel under the Puget sound, all of which would be expensive.

Tunnel is never gonna happen, it's way too deep. I could see a floating bridge like the Lake Washington ones though.

Until I saw this thread I thought the plans were to expand the Everett airport. Huh.

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

This is all about long term future. This airport plan, once decided, won't be finished for 20 years.

It's not about serving the current population, it's about serving the future population growth that will be encouraged by the new airport.

The new airport won't serve Seattle. It will serve the metro area that grows up around it.

Isn't there an urban growth boundary around the current Seattle metro area? What's developed now may continue to densify, but we're not gonna see new suburbs pushing up against the Cascades.

There may be fewer/no restrictions out past Olympia/Tumwater and on the Kitsap Pensinula, though, so those areas could become more suburbanized.

[grega94]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

Tunnel is never gonna happen, it's way too deep. I could see a floating bridge like the Lake Washington ones though.

Until I saw this thread I thought the plans were to expand the Everett airport. Huh.


Isn't there an urban growth boundary around the current Seattle metro area? What's developed now may continue to densify, but we're not gonna see new suburbs pushing up against the Cascades.

There may be fewer/no restrictions out past Olympia/Tumwater and on the Kitsap Pensinula, though, so those areas could become more suburbanized.

Puget sound isn’t too deep, the Eiksund tunnel in Norway goes 942 ft deep
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiksund_Tunnel

And the Ryfast tunnel, also in Norway, goes 958 ft deep. There is also a new technology being developed for a submerged floating tunnel
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subm...loating_tunnel

And yes the Everett airport is being expanded, but there isn’t enough room for it to become a major airport, SeaTac as is, is one of the most compact major airports in the US if not the world. They want something with a much bigger foot print on the scale of Denver’s airport.


And yes there’s an urban growth boundary, but south Pierce county is inside that growth boundary and it’s still fairly rural.