Detroit proposes 10,000-foot runway, would displace 15% of town

[JonnyKnoxville]

Detroit proposes 10,000-foot runway, would displace 15% of town

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Detroit Metropolitan Airport officials are proposing the building of a new, 10,000-foot runway that would displace 3,500 people, 15% of its home city's residents.

The plan for a seventh runway also would force the closing of two elementary schools and 50 businesses in Romulus. The city of 24,000 is 15 miles southwest of Detroit.

The board that runs the nation's 11th-busiest airport say the runway is needed as part of its 20-year plan to handle a projected 2.3% annual increase in traffic. They say annual passengers will reach 60 million by 2027. It is about 36 million today.

But Romulus officials sharply criticized the plan, and the City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution opposing it.

"How many hits can we continue to absorb on behalf of the region and the airport? ... We don't have a choice, we have to get vocal," Romulus economic development director Tim Keyes told The Detroit News.

Officials say the expansion would take 1,700 acres and 815 residential properties.

A plan including the runway, as well as expansion of the McNamara and North terminals and the building of a passenger monorail off Interstate 94, could go to federal regulators this spring, the newspaper said.

Northwest Airlines Corp. is the airport's dominant carrier. The Eagan, Minn.-based carrier is in merger talks with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc.

 

[PCL_128]

Anyone who's spent any amount of time in Romulus would be overjoyed to see it all bulldozed to make room for more airport. I'm not a fan of eminent domain, but Romulus is a hole.

 

[pipe]

This is a carbon copy of what went on in STL.

That new runway is awesome!!

Once they put in the rest areas for the drive to the terminal maybe someone will accept a landing clearance for 29.

PIPE

 

[JoeMerchant]

Anyone who's spent any amount of time in Romulus would be overjoyed to see it all bulldozed to make room for more airport. I'm not a fan of eminent domain, but Romulus is a hole.

.....and I thought you liberals were more compassionate than that.....

 

[Redmeat]

But Romulus officials sharply criticized the plan, and the City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution opposing it.

"How many hits can we continue to absorb on behalf of the region and the airport? ... We don't have a choice, we have to get vocal," Romulus economic development director Tim Keyes told The Detroit News.

.

Romulus officials want a nice casino in the neighborhood instead.

Hilarious:


http://www.journalgroup.com/Romulus/7045/local-casino-wins-committee-ok


February 21, 2008


Local casino wins committee OK

Molly Tippen
Staff Writer

It’s all in the hands on Nancy Pelosi.
The process of building a casino in the city of Romulus inched a little closer to success when the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced a bill that would allow a controversial land claim by bands of the Chippewa Indians to build casinos in Port Huron and Romulus.
The approval means that the bill will not likely be sent to the Rules Committee for modifications, and that Speaker of the House Pelosi could call for a vote anytime, said Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert.
“We’ve been told that no matter how this goes, we should know how to proceed in about 30 days,” he said.
Meanwhile, city officials are meeting tomorrow with Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn), who has supported the casino bill for some time.
“We’re going to talk about what comes next,” Lambert said. “After we heard the bill was approved by the (Natural Resources) committee, we were very happy, that’s for sure.”
A delegation of Romulus casino supporters testified about the economic development aspects of a casino Feb. 5 in front of the House Natural Resources Committee, and within days of the testimony, the bill was sent to the House floor.
The supporters who back the plan include Lambert and Dingell, who spoke at the hearing, and several others who sent letters of support, including Sen. Carl Levin and Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
There was also a delegation of speakers against the bill, including Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his mother, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit), who fear a casino 17 miles outside of the city will cut into the dedicated revenue stream Detroit gets from the three gambling houses in that city.
Proponents of the Romulus and Port Huron casinos said during the hearings that they believe a casino in the city would have little effect on Detroit casinos, and Lambert reiterated that point yesterday.
Jobs are the main reason the casino is needed in the city. A casino development would bring at least one 200-room hotel and an additional restaurant and service businesses to cater to gamblers and travelers on site at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
It would bring about 3,000 jobs to Wayne County, and would provide a dedicated revenue stream for the city to the tune of $4 to $10 million annually, according to city estimates.
The push for a casino began a little more than four years ago in December 2003, when a special election took place in the city to determine whether residents would support a gambling establishment near the airport.
Voters approved that measure decisively.
Once a vote on the bill is called for, the full House will vote to support or reject the measure. If it is approved, it will have to move on to the U.S. Senate, where members will then vote.
If the measure fails in Congress, however, it will be difficult for the city and Indian tribes to resurrect.
Right now, city officials and residents are in a wait-and-see mode.
“We’re being optimistic about it while we wait,” Lambert said.

 

[landlover]

they should just use willow run instead of building a new runway.

 

[PCL_128]

.....and I thought you liberals were more compassionate than that.....

I'm not a liberal. Have you ever been to Romulus? Trust me, it's a hole.

 

[DOVPILOT]

I bid the demo work back in 98' when they were getting ready to put in 22R/4L, 100+ homes were leveled, so this is nothing new.

 

[JoeMerchant]

I'm not a liberal. Have you ever been to Romulus? Trust me, it's a hole.

.....yes I have.....If that is the justification for taking private property....then much of the Detroit area could qualify....

You are supporting one the most liberal members of the Senate for President.....that makes you a liberal now.....

 

[PCL_128]

.....yes I have.....If that is the justification for taking private property....then much of the Detroit area could qualify....

Actually, this is one of the few cases in recent memory when eminent domain is actually being used as it was intended. Recent cases have included eminent domain for private industry projects that advocates say would have "boosted the economy." That's clearly not what eminent domain was intended for. It was designed for exactly what this airport project is: a government project. As long as they are properly compensated for their property, the Constitution specifically allows this sort of eminent domain use.

You are supporting one the most liberal members of the Senate for President.....that makes you a liberal now.....

I'm a liberal on labor issues, a conservative on social issues, and a centrist on economic issues. Hardly a liberal.

 

[JoeMerchant]

Actually, this is one of the few cases in recent memory when eminent domain is actually being used as it was intended. Recent cases have included eminent domain for private industry projects that advocates say would have "boosted the economy." That's clearly not what eminent domain was intended for. It was designed for exactly what this airport project is: a government project. As long as they are properly compensated for their property, the Constitution specifically allows this sort of eminent domain use. I'm a liberal on labor issues, a conservative on social issues, and a centrist on economic issues. Hardly a liberal.

I'm well aware of how eminent domain is supposed to be used. You are correct that it has been misused for private projects, and that it is intended to be used for govt. projects....However the economic condition of those that will be affected should not be a deciding factor....As a liberal, you should agree.....

Again you are supporting one of the most liberal members of the Senate for President.....Huckabee is more along the lines of what you claim to be....But no Conservative in their right mind would support Obama....

 

[The Victors]

They have 2 fricking runways there now, 9L/R, that are never used and have become big taxiways.

 

[PCL_128]

However the economic condition of those that will be affected should not be a deciding factor....As a liberal, you should agree.....

I'm not a liberal, but I do agree. Doesn't change the fact that Romulus is a hole.

Huckabee is more along the lines of what you claim to be

I like Huckabee. He just never stood a chance to win.

 

[BUDDHA145]

This sounds familiar!!!

hmmmmm!!!!!

oh yes St Louis...what a wiest...

 

[737 Pylt]

Anyone who's spent any amount of time in Romulus would be overjoyed to see it all bulldozed to make room for more airport. I'm not a fan of eminent domain, but Romulus is a hole.

I thought after Kirk saved the world in Star Trek VI, Romulus, and the federation all got along ok?

737