NJ SASP

The Glorious and Inept State of New Jersey delivered their first State Airport System Plan in something like 20 years.

It is a model of photography that would make any high school proud!

However, it wallows in fluff with a few useful facts. Like this one:

77% of airports lack adequate safety areas.
46 % of airports lack adequate Runway-Taxiway separation.
35% of airports lack adequate Runway Width.

Newark, Teterboro, and Morristown are over 80% of capacity. Newark? isn't this more like 120% capacity?

Then there is a little snide remarks like this: "Of the 28 privately
owned, public use airports, seven are eligible to receive
federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding; five
of these seven are currently obligated. NJDOT supports
and advocates public ownership and operation of Core
airports as appropriate."

"Upgrading all airports to meet 100 percent of their identified objectives will entail significant investment over the coming years. Funding priority should be given to those airports and projects considered most essential to the success of the State’s airport system."

"New airports would help to resolve potential operational capacity shortfalls."

"The following airports should be developed to the maximum extent feasible based on local development, financial, environmental, ownership, and community considerations:"

This in a state that is rapidly approaching BANKRUPTCY.

Why should the state make the huge investment to purchase PRIVATE airports to PUBLIC OWNERSHIP?

The state has NEVER, NEVER created a "new airport". Nearly all of the airports in New Jersey started as PRIVATE airports.

Instead, the state should encourage private ownership and investment, and instead, put any available funding into safety and capacity improvements.

The contradictions in NJDOT are ASSSSSSTOUNDING. We need to pawn off the Parkway, Turnpike, and the AC Expressway for 75 years to raise $40 Billion in new Debt, but we then need to spend an additional $350 Million to buy airports that are already airports?

Clearly, this system is broken. "Privately-owned Public-Use" airports should have the legal standing and opportunity to play exactly the same role as public airports. In fact, the FAA, State, County, and MPO's have significant discriminatory practices AGAINST privately owned public use airports.

Even more interesting is that NJDOT has flip-flopped on airport improvements because they never released this report. Therefore, they could (and continuously did) flip their position on airport improvements in order to manipulate the price they paid to purchase airports. First they would give the airport a certain role. The airport would begin planning to meet this role. The town would object and begin Eminent Domain proceedings to "take" the airport. NJDOT would clam up, and hide the FEDERALLY FUNDED Environmental Impact Statement that would validate safety issues. Then the town would use the lack of this data to incriminate the airport.

Its very slimy and very insidious. And TOTALLY unconstitutional. NJDOT creates a conflict of interest by both REGULATING and OWNING airports. This makes them a MARKET PLAYER as well as MARKET REGULATOR.