Look, as anyone knows who reads this blog, I like out-of-the-box ideas and fresh approaches. But a four-tiered floating airport with runways on the roof sited ten miles out in the ocean off San Diego with underwater trains to shuttle people seems just a teensy bit over the top to me.
The developers say it would only cost $20 billion and they’ll raise the money privately? Now I’m even more skeptical.
‘Hey, it’s no crazier than the oil rigs turned hotel idea‘ says LA Curbed. Well no, actually it’s a whole lot crazier. As in planes overshooting the runways and going off the edge. Or needing major repairs with no ability to do so on the floating airport, maybe as a major storm approaches. As for the underwater train, does it go through earthquake zones? Inquiring minds want to know.
The Palmdale area of Los Angles County already has a huge area set aside for an airport. Run light rail from it to the subway terminus in North Hollywood and to San Diego. You’ll have all the airport the area needs for decades to come. Without having to float an airport in the ocean.
OK, I was going to say that the airport-on-water thing isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds seeing as we’ve had Aircraft Carrier technology for over half a century but…
Yeah, that’s a good point about the earthquake zones. I wonder if the developers thought about that. I certainly hadn’t.
True, but planes on carriers take off and land abruptly. Not sure regular passengers would want that or even if commercial aircraft could handle those speeds and stress.