National Capital Planning Commission intends to study these proposals in depth. The proposed center is of such critical importance to the region's transportation system that all regional transportation agencies should be involved in its planning and development. GENERAL AVIATION ISSUES The fast growth of general aviation activity in the region has created a pressing need to develop more general aviation facilities. Because of rapidly increasing competition for suitable sites by other large land using activities, it is increasingly difficult to locate new airports in areas convenient to potential users and consistent with other metropolitan development goals. Developments in the following four areas could either alleviate or compound the problem. Washington National Airport Washington National Airport is the second busiest general aviation facility in the area. Only Friendship Airport had more general aviation operations in 1966. To relieve the crowded conditions at Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration has suggested reopening the Anacostia Naval Air Station. However, the use of either Anacostia or its neighbor, the old Bolling Air Force Base, for general aviation purposes would be in direct conflict with other planning proposals. Bolling AFB has been proposed as the site of a large urban redevelopment program designed to increase the housing supply of the District of Columbia and create a model community on one of the few large undeveloped tracts left within the District. Moreover, Bolling and Anacostia, as airports, would create noise and safety problems for the metropolitan community. Beltsville Airport Beltsville Airport is an existing facility at the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville National Agricultural Research Center. Both the Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration make limited use of the facility, but it is not available for public use. There have been FAA and congressional interests shown in opening the field as a general aviation facility, but as yet this has not happened. The reasons for not opening the airport to public use should be identified and evaluated as part of the comprehensive planning effort. Prince George's County Airport A variety of proposals to develop a new general aviation facility in Prince George's County led to the creation of the Prince George's County Airport Committee. The committee has recommended development of an airport and industrial park between Upper Marlboro and Mitchellville, at the intersection of U. S. Route 301 and State Road 214. The 1500-acre site is largely wooded and removed from areas of urban development. The airport itself will cost about $2 million and the total development, including the industrial park, about $8 million. The FAA will be requested to fund about $1 million of the project. Fairfax County Airport Attempts to develop a new general aviation airport in Fairfax County have met with stiff opposition. The proposed $2 million airport would be located on Popes Head Road, on a 343-acre site in southeast Fairfax County. A license authorizing the county to operate the facility was granted by the State Corporation Commission. However, a citizens group challenged the granting of the license, and the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals revoked the license and has ordered a public hearing on the matter. An FAA grant of $687,000 has been allocated for development of the airport, contingent upon the availability of matching funds. These funds would come from the county and the state. The Fairfax County Airport Authority proposes a $1 million bond issue to cover its share of the cost; the proposed state funds were to have come from the state contingency fund. A shortage in that fund has required the Governor of Virginia to withhold the anticipated state share. The coordination of efforts to finance and construct general aviation airports in the Washington metropolitan area should be a major thrust of the comprehensive air transportation planning process. This process will also offer the first real opportunity to take a detailed look at the overall demand, existing and potential, for this type of facility throughout the region. CHAPTER IV AGENCIES INVOLVED IN AIR FACILITIES PLANNING Many public agencies are involved in the planning of air facilities to serve the Washington metropolitan area. An awareness of their respective responsibilities, roles, and interests is necessary to the development of an effective metropolitan air facilities planning program. This chapter briefly identifies and describes these agencies. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION The Department of Transportation (DOT) was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The Department began operations on April 1, 1967. DOT is responsible for the development of national transportation policies and programs. It has been directed to promote technological advances in transportation, intergovernmental coordination to achieve transportation goals, and leadership in solving transportation problems. Air transportation is only one of DOT's areas of concern, but it is a major one. The Department has a wide range of specific responsibilities related to air transportation and exercises them through a number of its component units, described below. National Transportation Safety Board The DOT Act of 1966 transferred the responsibility for investigating civil aircraft accidents and hearing safety regulation enforcement appeals from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to the National Transportation Safety Board. The involvement of the National Transportation Safety Board in planning the metropolitan air transportation system would be limited to providing data and analyses from the Board's investigations and those of the CAB. Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the most important Federal agency involved in planning the Washington metropolitan air transportation system. The Federal Aviation Administrator has five major responsibilities. First, he must regulate air commerce in order to promote its safety, development, and the national defense. Second, he must promote civil aeronautics. Third, he is responsible for the control of all the navigable air space of the United States. Fourth, the Administrator consolidates research on - and development of - air navigation facilities. Finally, he is charged with the development and operation of a common system of air traffic control and navigation for all aircraft in United States air space. Obviously, these broad responsibilities of the Federal Aviation Administration significantly affect the planning of any metropolitan air transportation system. In the Washington metropolitan area, however, the FAA has certain additional responsibilities: it owns, operates, and maintains Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport through its Bureau of National Capital Airports (BNCA). The BNCA is currently completing a detailed study of the future development of Washington National Airport; the study is scheduled to be released in early 1968. The FAA's participation in the metropolitan planning process is normally limited to its regional and area offices. Although no direct financial assistance is available for this purpose, staff members are available for consultation and advice regarding the preparation of a metropolitan air transportation plan. The FAA is required by its own regulations to maintain a continuing relationship with the metropolitan planning process. Another mandate emphasizing this relationship is contained in Section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966. Under the requirements of this section, any application by one of the region's local governments or special purpose authorities to the FAA for assistance under the Federal Aid to Airports Act must be submitted to the Council of Governments for review and comment. The purpose of the review is to identify whether the proposed improvement is consistent with the metropolitan planning process. FAA's role in air space control and traffic management and its work in research and development programs are also pertinent to air facilities planning in Metropolitan Washington. Office of High Speed Ground Transportation The Office of High Speed Ground Transportation (OHSGT) is an office of the Federal Railroad Administration of the Department of Transportation. This office is responsible for research, development, and demonstration of new techniques of high speed ground transportation. Part of the work of the OHSGT is designed to help solve intercity transportation problems in the Northeast Corridor the area between Portland, Maine, and Norfolk, Virginia. The OHSGT has developed original data on travel demands and characteristics in this corridor. These include information on interregional travel having the Washington region as its origin or destination and will be useful in preparing the region's air transportation plan. The experiments of the OHSGT with high speed trains in the Northeast Corridor will also provide data important to the planning process. Bureau of Public Roads The Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) is a unit of the Federal Highway Administration of the Department of Transportation. The BPR is an active partner in the comprehensive transportation planning process in the Washington metropolitan area. Its planning and financial assistance in providing access to airports is critical to the development of a coordinated transportation system. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Office of Planning Standards and Coordination This office is under the Assistant Secretary for Metropolitan Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It is responsible for administering the Urban Planning Assistance Program through the Department's regional offices. This report and other portions of COG's work program are partially financed through this program. HUD's standards for comprehensive metropolitan planning require adequate provisions to insure the integration of air transportation planning with the comprehensive planning process. The recommendations of this report are designed to insure that this need will continue to be met. |