If you build it, will they come? Not in Hagerstown, Maryland, where airlines have left town despite a brand new runway.
"Earlier this decade, city officials in Hagerstown, Md., started making the case to build a longer runway at their airport to lure service by regional jets, instead of the turboprop planes that provided its only flights.
Several years and $61.4 million later, the city opened its concrete welcome mat, a new 7,000 foot runway, last November - two months after the airport lost scheduled air service altogether.
Despite its costly investment, a dogged marketing effort by local officials and even help from Congress, the airport has had no luck attracting a new carrier, as the industry struggles under soaring fuel prices.
"Could we pick a worse time to go out and get commercial service? Probably not," said Carolyn Motz, director of the Hagerstown Regional Airport, which had 10 daily flights a decade ago.
The airports have grown quiet in many other communities, too."
Read the full story: Airlines’ Cuts Making Cities No-Fly Zones
Fly the Costly Skies
With fill-ups costing close to $70,000 for a transatlantic flight, airlines are facing a grim future.
Topics Planners Don't Often Think About, But Should
There are a number of areas of planning that offer planners a role, but are not necessarily at the front of our minds. At the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference, researchers shared results that can impact practice.
Adaptive Reuse Coming to Struggling Airports
As airlines cut service to small and mid-sized cities, once bustling airports now find whole terminals vacated, and are looking to find new revenue models for the vacated space, reports Jane L. Levere.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
'This is going to be painful:’ Virginia stares down $1.7 billion funding gap for highway maintenance
The state may address the deficit by shifting $290 million from its construction budget to maintenance projects.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello