  Godzill992 Member Username: Godzill992 Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2007 |
Spent some time cruising around the city website and saw an old posting touting about $40m in proposed airport improvements and some interior pictures of the terminal. The website looks to have been last updated in 2005. Has the city made any progress with these renovations? Has the new terminal and other work at Metro killed this or is the city still trying to get commercial service resumed? For refrence the url is http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/ai rport/ | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 151 Registered: 01-2005 |
Nope. Nothing other than the repair of the old terminal after the director turned off the heat last winter causing a fourteen inch fire suppression main to freeze. Water sprayed everywhere. Clean up was an estimated two hundred fifty thousand. The rebuild you ask? No one is talking about how much and when. The place is like a tomb. What was once and viable airport has degraded into a ghost town. Want to see what DET could be like? Check out Flint Bishop http://www.bishopairport.org/index.htm Mike Trout, former director of DET moved on a few years ago. He’s now Director and or Manager of Flint Bishop and doing a marvelous job. Detroit City Airport 1930   | ||
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336 Post Number: 953 Registered: 02-2007 |
Renovating City is impractical, partially because in order for it to pay off, the runways would need lengthening, and there's no where to do that. | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 153 Registered: 01-2005 |
“the runways would need lengthening, and there's no where to do that.” RB336, The cities master airport plan was to build a new runway utilizing property along French Road, directly west of runway 330 / 150 thus a six thousand foot runway, with an adequate runoff zone at both ends. Example:  | ||
Rrl Member Username: Rrl Post Number: 871 Registered: 12-2003 |
Don- What eventually stalled this plan? Cost of acquiring the land? Wouldn't there also be the need for a N-S runway, or would this new runway be sufficient? I for one, used to love to fly Southwest from DET back in the early 90's, easy in and out. It would be great to see passenger service restored at the airport. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 4994 Registered: 08-2004 |
Rrl I too remember the ease of Southwest service. Sure beat the long drive to Metro. When they closed 6 Mile (McNichols), it really hurt a lot of businesses in the general area, since it litereally cut the east side into 2 parts. | ||
Carm Member Username: Carm Post Number: 60 Registered: 01-2007 |
Why was McNichols closed off? I went to Mt. Olivet last month past the airport and had to go all the way to 7 Mile to get to Van Dyke so I could enter the cemetary. It seems pretty stupid since it doesn't appear to be closed all the way to Van Dyke. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 4996 Registered: 08-2004 |
McNichols has been closed off since CAY was mayor. He had a grand plan to build larger runways that would go nearly to 7 Mile and Van Dyke. Unfortunately the only legacy of that unbuilt grand scheme is a closed McNichols from Conner to City Airports western perimeter. Why that stretch has never been reopened has me baffled as well! | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1981 Registered: 02-2007 |
"Why was McNichols closed off? I went to Mt. Olivet last month past the airport and had to go all the way to 7 Mile to get to Van Dyke so I could enter the cemetary. It seems pretty stupid since it doesn't appear to be closed all the way to Van Dyke." Think about it, the Runway's length ends right against the Road and when the planes took off, they likely would have been feet from touching someone's roof. A typical eastsider though generally ignores the little setback. They could possibly reopen it, but what if the scenario I described does play out? (Message edited by Urbanize on July 31, 2007) | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 154 Registered: 01-2005 |
“What eventually stalled this plan? Cost of acquiring the land? Wouldn't there also be the need for a N-S runway, or would this new runway be sufficient?” Rrl: this purposed new runway would be a north / south. Much of the land needed was acquired. “Why was McNichols closed off?” “Why that stretch has never been reopened has me baffled as well!” Carm & Gistok: With bigger and faster aircraft landing and taking off they needed and runoff zone. A runoff zone is just what the name eludes. Better to have aircraft runoff into a cemetery than a well traveled road.  | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 4998 Registered: 08-2004 |
What they really should do is tunnel Mc Nichols under the runway runoff. However, the city doesn't have the bucks to do that. Closing McNichols really cut the east side in half. You have to either go south down Gratiot to Harper/I-94 to get over, or go up to 7 Mile. That's a long stretch. | ||
Flybydon Member Username: Flybydon Post Number: 155 Registered: 01-2005 |
“Closing McNichols really cut the east side in half.” Gostic: As did the closing of Kercheval and Charlevoix for the Chrysler Jefferson Assembly. Perhaps this could be the start of new thread. What Detroit streets have been closed in the name of progress? | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1985 Registered: 02-2007 |
Yes, that wouldn't be a bad thread. "Closing McNichols really cut the east side in half. You have to either go south down Gratiot to Harper/I-94 to get over, or go up to 7 Mile. That's a long stretch." I guess it's all in perspective. It's only a Mile (at the most a Mile and a half) McNichols in that part isn't really a busy commuting route. In addition, most people already take 8 Mile, Gratiot, The French Road-Grinnell-Lynch Turn or 7 Mile anyway. True, It May Not Be the Most Effective Way in a 2 + 2 sense either. I mean let's think about it first, what benefit will we have reopening McNichols? There's nothing important along the route. Most eastsiders have easier ways to get to Hamtramack. | ||
Carm Member Username: Carm Post Number: 61 Registered: 01-2007 |
Thanks for the explanations. I was just a kid when CAY was mayor and the street was closed. Is there still any reason to keep it closed off? Is there that much air traffic? It still would have been nice to have the street open when I went to the cemetary. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 78 Registered: 07-2006 |
On the subject of streets closed off for progress--doesn't 2nd Avenue dead end (going north) into the DTE building? | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1986 Registered: 02-2007 |
"On the subject of streets closed off for progress--doesn't 2nd Avenue dead end (going north) into the DTE building?" It doesn't "dead end", it just cut off by the DTE Campus. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 79 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks Urbanize. I was just looking on the city website about City Airport. If it's up to date, it appears there are two rental car agencies, the US Customs, and a few private aviation companies there. It would be interesting to know how many planes actually fly in and out of there each day, but there doesn't seem to be much information online about the airport. | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1987 Registered: 02-2007 |
The only Airline there that really condones Private Commercial Flights is Signature. Pro-Air is still there, but they of course are grounded. Destination One is still there, which they service Private flights from Cleveland and Cincinnati. The only Rental Car Agencies there are Hertz and Enterprise (National Car Rental left 5 years ago). (Message edited by Urbanize on July 31, 2007) | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 4999 Registered: 08-2004 |
Urbanize, as an east sider, sometimes I would just like to get to the Jeffries without going via I-94 or 8 Mile, both miles out of the way. Going I-94 is no biggie, but then you have that 4 mile stretch til you get to the local/express section at the Davison Freeway. Sometimes I really lament that the Davison wasn't finished between Conant and I-94 (at Conner). Especially when I-94 has major accident backups. I bet that it would have really taken a load of traffic off of I-94, especially around the 3 interchanges. Of course they would have had to finish that stretch between the Lodge and Jeffries as well. (Message edited by Gistok on July 31, 2007) | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1989 Registered: 02-2007 |
"Urbanize, as an east sider, sometimes I would just like to get to the Jeffries without going via I-94 or 8 Mile, both miles out of the way. Going I-94 is no biggie, but then you have that 4 mile stretch til you get to the local/express section at the Davison Freeway." I guess it would depends on where you're trying to get to along the Jeffries whether or not you HAVE to take it and how you get to it. I mean McNichols being connected the whole way wouldn't have made a Big difference, as the average NE sider would have either went to 8 Mile, Gratiot or I-94 anyway. and SE Siders have no choice but I-94 or Jefferson. Yeah, the Davison likely would have eased an Awful lot of Traffic though. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 80 Registered: 07-2006 |
Wasn't the massive Mound/I-696 interchange built in anticipation of a completed Davison Fwy.? I can't remember the specifics. ------------------------------ -------------------- I can't see City Airport ever bouncing back just on the strength of private and commercial flights. I think Oakland County International Airport, for one, has taken its place in that regard. The Ohio to Detroit service is a positive step back towards (which was touted as a means for people from Ohio to play our casinos, right?) flights that will serve the general public. | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 1990 Registered: 02-2007 |
^^^That is correct about the Ohio-Detroit thing Dustin and the Mound-I-696 Interchange was in anticipation of turning Mound into a Freeway (instead, it ended up as an Eastside Telegraph or a N-S 8 Mile). Now all the screwy mess or the Hamtramack Scramble where mound ends I would assume was apart of the concept for the Davison (although I may be wrong). | ||
Caquail Member Username: Caquail Post Number: 52 Registered: 10-2003 |
According to AirNav.com in 2005 DET averaged 244 operations per day. In comparison, Willow Run in 2002 averaged 335 operations a day, DTW had 1415 operations a day in 2004. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 81 Registered: 07-2006 |
I would be the last to say we need more freeways, but I would agree that extending the Davison both east and west would solve many traffic disruptions. As of right now, it's kind of the odd one out in our freeway network. The way I use the Davison-to go from Woodward to I-75-does not even entail getting on the freeway. I haven't heard traffic counts, but I imagine it could handle some extra traffic and, as said above, would relieve I-94 congestion (and probably I-696 congestion, too.) |
