||| FROM THE NANTUCKET INQUIRER AND MIRROR |||
Orcas and Nantucket Islands are each roughly the same size and the same distance off their respective coasts. We share the same concerns about the high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, tourist management, ferry problems and environmental degradation. We are living on opposite ends of the country but many of the issues and opportunities are the same. Recently theOrcasonian and the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror decided to share articles of mutual interest with our readers. The following article from Nantucket should sound very familiar.
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
The tarmac Friday afternoon of a busy August weekend at Nantucket Memorial Airport. Aug. 7, 2015
No, it doesn’t seem as bad. Let’s hope we can keep it that way.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words! But were there any words to this article?
Yes, I’d be curious to read the words too!
While the runway at Orcas is but 2900 x 60 feet, this photo shows the result of having a 6300 x 150 foot runway…
. . . and a part-time population that can afford Lear Jets.
I recall reading in the Orcasonian a while back about plans to expand our airport. I haven’t heard anymore about that, did it go away?
There is a helicopter hovering above the runway in the picture. I did read a number of years ago that one of the other problems on Nantucket is the heavy helicopter traffic with its accompanying noise.
Nantucket is a short plane ride from the entire Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC strip. That’s at least 50 MILLION people within 350 miles of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. By contrast the entire population of BC, WA and OR is roughly 17 million and there are many, many other desirable destinations besides Orcas Island to choose from. My point being the population pressure on Nantucket has been and is, orders of magnitude higher than on Orcas Island. It’s quite simply not comparable. And while that might be a difference of degree rather than of kind, it is THE difference that makes all the difference. We obviously have real problems that need attention in SJC, but turning into Nantucket is not one of them.
The Cessna Caravans which several carriers including FedEx use to serve Eastsound has a wingspan of 52 feet which exceeds the FAA allowable for Eastsound’s existing separation between runway and taxiway…the new Cessna Skycourier, designed in collaboration with FedEx, has a wingspan of 73 feet. If or when FedEx and other carriers retire their Caravans, there will be serious implications for both passenger and air freight service to Orcas.
Nantucket’s airport has grown considerably over time. Not only would I not want to see our airport ever become as busy as Nantucket’s… I don’t want to see it become like Nantucket’s airport was 20 years ago.
And obviously, our airport will never be as big & busy as Nantucket’s, that’s a given… but it will grow. Look at the amount of land that the airport owns, and the number of private hangars that have been approved, but have yet to be built. The airport will continue to grow into the future, and there will be more flights, more noise, etc. The growing population throughout the region, and the growing number of private pilots moving here into the future will ensure this. But aside from the article, this isn’t just about the inevitable growth of our airport.
The parallels are obvious… the tourism, and tourism related growth paradigm (vacation rentals, second-homes, the resultant housing crunch offset by the building of more affordable homes, and the increasing numbers of tourists), that’s happening to Nantucket, is also happening here… it’s happening everywhere. Anybody that’s ever lived in a place where they’ve witnessed this before, or has lived here any length of time can clearly see that we are certainly not exempt from this phenomena.
What kind of future do we want for our island communities? Citizen oversight has paid off in some ways, and holding tourism and tourism related growth to a sustainable level (speaking in terms of our environment and our social well-being) is dependent upon continued citizen’s awareness and oversight, and letting our voices be heard loud and clear.
For if the “it can’t happen here” mentality prevails… that will be exactly what ensures that it does.
I have serious doubts (and on good authority) that Orcas Island Airport will ever look like the image posted above. I personally have not come across an Orcas Island citizen or commissioner interested in making that nightmare a reality.
Orcas Island Airport is required to draft and submit plans for meeting FAA standards. This is known as the airport’s Master Plan – this process alone can induce public panic. The airport must balance this process with the desires of our stakeholders (most important).
Unless the public is interested in paying back the countless millions of dollars received from the FAA for partially funded projects in the past, and fully fund the operations, maintenance, and capital improvements, we’ll continue to see this process on a cycle.
Members of the public are the most valuable stakeholders, and citizen oversight is the core of a public administration – like the Port of Orcas. The best thing you can do is to be present, attend commission meetings, and vote in all elections. Voice your concerns with the appropriate elected officials (in this case the Port of Orcas Board of Commissioners) and keep current on what your districts are doing, or planning to do.
The next Port of Orcas Board of Commissioner’s meeting is taking place on Monday, February 26th at 5:00 p.m.. You can attend online via Zoom, or in person at the airport conference room. The public is given opportunities to share their thoughts at the beginning and end of each meeting. If you’re not able to attend, there are future opportunities. Regular meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month at the same time and location. Access information is shared with the Orcasonian in a separate post each month, and is available on location and at http://www.portoforcas.com
Actually, I would much rather have Nantucket airport! The planes either takeoff directly over the water or over less densely populated land. The center of the town is over 3 miles to the side of the runway. People can probably carry on their conversations when they are sipping coffee at the outdoor café.
I feel there is no comparison to be made. This is a joke, right? Seriously? You may as well compare Orcas to SeaTac. Nantucket is a real airport, with a full terminal, TSA, even a restaurant. You can rent cars at the airport, with parking spaces with numbers, just like a normal commercial airport, Jeeps are of course popular because you can drive on the beaches. And if you want to purchase a Jeep you can get it at a local island Jeep dealership. While Nantucket has the Kenmore Air equivalent in Cape Air and Nantucket Airways, they leave from Boston Logan, where there are connections in adjoining terminals to locations world-wide. A walk away, not a shuttle to a small commuter terminal remote from Logan. Need a doughnut for your early morning flight, with a New England “black” coffee, there is a Dunken stand next to the Cape Air gates. You can fly to Nantucket from Seattle with a single connection at Newark or JFK, just like you would to any other city in the US. Actual commercial planes, those from known national carriers such as American, United and Delta fly there, with cities serving Nantucket with direct flights from as far away as Chicago O’hare, seasonally. As is shown in the picture, and my person experience is that there can be in excess of 3 dozen private jets, more than would even fit in parking locations at Eastsound. But by far a measure of the capabilities, Air Force Two (Boeing 757) and associated cargo planes landed at the airport, based on pictures I have seen in the terminal. They have 2 runways, perpendicular to manage weather. There is no comparison.
For those worried about healthcare on Orcas, they have a real hospital on the island, about four times the size of Friday Harbor’s. Not sure we are ready for that on our quiet island.