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The levels of improvement assumed for each airport are based on existing master <br />plans or other ~evelopment plans where available. <br /> <br />Tables 2 and 3 describe the assumed storage capacities and and improvements <br />necessary to achieve maximum development of the system (Alternatives 2 and 4)- <br /> <br />CAPACITY EVALUATION <br /> <br />Tables 4 and 5 shows the analysis of demand and capacity at the airport, <br />subregional and regional levels. <br /> <br />Only Alternative 4 will provide sufficient capacity to handle expected <br />regional demand in the year 2010. Alternative 2, if either Gateway North or <br />Carver County airports considered under the subalternatives analysis can be <br />achieved is also capable of satisfying regional demand. However, only <br />Alternative 4 provides enough additional capacity in the .western half of the <br />region to satisfy the demand generated in that part of the west metro area. If <br />this demand is forced to be accomodated at airports in the eastern part of the <br />region the accessibility of the system, particularly to the growing west metro <br />area, deteriorates. The accessibility to the general aviation airports would <br />decline from current conditions under these alternatives, however, because the <br />predominate capacity growth takes place in the eastern portion of the region <br />whereas most of the demand growth occurs in communities in the west. <br /> <br />The capacity shortfall is due primarily to the growth of 666 based aircraft in <br />the region, but will be compounded by the likely closure of the privately owned- <br />public use airports in the region. <br /> <br />Alternative 1 <br /> <br />Alternative 1 is the most deficient in terms of capacity, falling 695 spaces <br />short of the amount needed to satisfy expected growth. The alternative <br />provides an average travel time of about 29 minutes, significantly greater than <br />the estimated current average of 18.5. About 22 percent of the region's pilots <br />would be forced to base their aircraft at airports outside the Metropolitan <br />Area. Alternative 1 is clearly an inadequate option for the regional aviation <br />system. <br /> <br />Alternative 2 <br /> <br />Alternative 2 provides a slight excess of capacity in the system as a whole. <br />The average travel time 'to satisfy demand would increase to about 22 minutes <br />since the additional capacity is located primarily in the eastern half of the <br />region whereas about 60 percent of the new aviation demand comes from the west <br />metro area. Although this increase appears small overall, it would occur <br />because a substantial amount of the new demand would experience travel times <br />nearly 50 percent higher than the current system average as they are forced to <br />inconvenient airports. <br /> <br />Subalternatives considered later could offset the regional deficiency in <br />capacity, although the imbalance between west side demand and capacity would <br />continue to exist. In addition, many of the improvements assumed in the <br /> <br /> <br />