RDU Expansion/2040 Master Plan

I don’t think we have to worry about Raleigh becoming the next Dhaka but Its not fair to say there aren’t any quality mega-cities. Of the ones I have been to; London, Istanbul, Moscow, Los Angeles, NYC, and Tokyo - all quality/amazing places. Better than Raleigh.

I think you know what I was referring to…

I been to a lot of major cities Miami being the best, and I love it there, and felt bored here now I don’t hate Raleigh I grew up here I just live my city Raleigh and want it to be the best!!!

Cmon you didn’t have to take it that far I meant US Cities.

There metro is huge!!! Maybe can emulate that like Dallas-Fort Worth, or Minneapolis-Saint Paul!!!

The Triangle has been among the fastest growing areas of the country for closing in on 4 decades. I’m not exactly sure how big you were expecting the region to get and how quickly, but this is pretty remarkable considering where we were when my mom lived in Cary in the 70s (or my grandmother who grew up in Oakwood in the 30s).

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You are right. I shouldn’t have said anything at all…but I did.

The hate and shade was unnecessary, Raleigh has it’s only quality :man_shrugging:t4:

My mom spotted this on Facebook:

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Fun fact: Raleigh proper has more people than Miami proper. Then again, Miami proper only has 36 square miles of land.

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You can almost discern what the f/o is doing.

The N&O and TBJ reported that many of RDU’s Vision 2040 expansion plans like a longer main runway, additional gates, or a new rental car facility are put on ice and/or downgraded.

This is because, in part, of how the COVID pandemic dragging on has made it difficult to predict how many people will fly out of RDU (and, thus, need more parking facilities beyond what we have now).

Not that RDU's expansion plans are screwed, though. Click here to read the details.

Not that the proposed upgrades are permanently dead, though. For example:

This downgraded runway replacement is actually also a blessing in disguise! RDU expected to go through the painful Environmental Impact Review (EIR) process to get its Vision 2040 projects federally cleared in one broad stroke. The MOU that spelled out FAA’s approval for Vision 2040 back in 2019, turns out, was conditioned on this being successful.

But because of this downgrade, the FAA decided it’s okay to just do environmental studies on the runway separately from the other expansion projects -and that the runway project can get away with the much simpler Environmental Assessment (EA). This result was explained during the RDU board meeting that’s behind this article:

Here’s timestamped YouTube links to the board meeting, specifically for discussions on replacing the long runway near Terminal 2, and a board a member’s question about the current Vision 2040 scope.

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I could have sworn the FAA declined the funding for the longer main runway project pre-pandemic

No, they just never responded. “Not responding” is very different from rejecting.

Besides, this wouldn’t have been the stage where they truly (don’t) fund the runway expansion. Like they said in the video, RDU would have still had to follow one of the NEPA environmental study pathways before they could actually receive a check.

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I thought there was something to the effect of 10,000ft was ok but not 11,500.

This is what I remember.

I swear there contempt for our city is terrible because the republicans made a notion to keep us quaint and love the bigger city. This is actually a great time for upgrades because everyone wants to get out after this covid mess.

Y’all know those stupid people-movers like JFK’s AirTrain where you pay just to get to yet another train or parking deck? Ever wondered why we can’t just have direct train connections to airport like London or Tokyo does?

It turns out it’s partly because American airports can charge $4.50 on every flight ticket as a “passenger facility charge” (PFC) to pay for certain kinds of upgrades. “Certain kinds”, such as airport rail projects that only serve the airport and nowhere in between.

Until now, thanks to the FAA deciding to get rid of that dumb caveat. (click here to learn how!)

The FAA has a memo that describes the rule change as well as rebuttals to the IATA and Delta Airlines complaining about it like a little bitch, but Streetsblog and Vice have easier-to-read explanations:

This means, if RDU decides to go above and beyond their Vision 2040 plan, they could decide to help extend a BRT line to the airport using these passenger fees. This is obviously still unlikely since they have more pressing issues (see above), but this is still one less major excuse to worry about.

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I’d like to see a people mover at RDU though I don’t think we’re big enough for that.

Presuming that you are not talking about heavy rail commuter trains, but actual “train” trains? If so, we would have to have an actual train network worth connecting. By far, the USA has the most airports. It could be presumed that our transportation strategy is connect via air, not ground. If we had fewer better airports, then it would make sense to have trains stations in NC places other than Charlotte or RDU, to connect them. Instead, we have medium and small airports in the Triad, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Asheville, Greenville, etc., instead, and we connect via regional jet/prop service.

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