a new international airport terminal . The fact that you can get in and out of the airport easily , enjoy the public art — it ’ s just a pleasing experience . And I think it reverberated , and it ’ s become a point of pride throughout the region .”
Serna says the airport serves passengers from beyond the 10 counties of the Capital Region . Airport spokesperson Mott concurs , and points out that , uniquely for Northern California , Sacramento International has an entire region to itself . “ When you think about the Bay Area ,” she says , “( San Francisco International ), Oakland and San Jose ( airports ), while not all that close together , they serve overlapping regions more than Sacramento does with any other international airport .”
Mott says in “ battleground ” communities , such as Napa and Modesto , where passengers have a choice , Sacramento International continues to compete well because of the relative
lack of traffic , cheaper parking , and easier ingress and egress .
The Master Plan 2020 Update calls for expansion of many of the airport ’ s facilities , including additional gates , check-in facilities , security checkpoints and baggage handling systems . Improvements are planned for multimodal transportation options such as the driverless tram that shuttles passengers from the terminal to the gates . And Nichol predicts that the airport needs to plan for new , as-yet-unseen technologies , pointing to the disruption — both positive and negative — that ridesharing apps triggered .
The update , which was initiated before the pandemic , projected that boardings could increase from 6.6 million to more than 11 million by 2038 . A recent Forecast Summary predicts that it may take five years for the airport to get back to 2019 peak numbers , and that development projects enumerated in the plan , would experience a five- or even 10-year delay . And yet , at a virtual public meeting on the plan , a spokesperson said , “ It is also possible that recovery from the current situation could be more robust , and projects will be required sooner to meet the needs of airport users .”
Nichol is unabashedly optimistic . Where some might see a lingering reluctance to fly , she sees pent-up demand . “ What we ’ ve seen in our recovery so far has come more from leisure travelers ,” she says , “ and we know some business travel will return . I believe people will travel more , because as we are being reminded , sometimes you ’ ve just got to be there .”
Eric Johnson is a freelance writer for several Northern California publications . Before moving to Sacramento in 2017 , he held senior editorial roles at various newsweeklies and magazines in the Bay Area for 20 years .
30 nearly years
We plan and design your high-performance electrical environment .
Emergency Department Expansion Sacramento , California
M . Neils
Engineering , Inc .
Electrical Engineers | Lighting Designers MNeilsEngineering . com | 916-923-4400
April 2021 | comstocksmag . com 59