by Judy Harding
WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics
Planning is an important part of everyday life and is a critical step in accomplishing one’s goals. At the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics (BOA), our goal is to provide a system of airports that is readily accessible from both the air and the ground and one which features infrastructure that will attract business-supporting economic growth. More importantly, our goal is to provide a safe and secure airport system, which meets the existing and future needs of its users and addresses community and environmental compatibility.
Earlier this year, BOA adopted the Wisconsin State Airport System Plan 2030, as part of a continuous planning process. An aviation stakeholder group comprised of members of the aviation community, government agencies, and regional planning commissions was integral to the plan’s development. The resultant plan is a statewide, long-range airport transportation plan, which provides an inventory and evaluation of the 98 public-use airports which make up the Wisconsin Airport System. The plan defines our vision for the airport system, identifies system goals, and offers a framework to meet current and future needs of the state’s airport network. Our objectives in developing the Wisconsin State Airport System Plan 2030 included:
• Improve safety of Wisconsin airports.
• Obtain a current inventory of the facilities and services of each airport in the system.
• Establish airport system goals, performance measures and benchmarks.
• Identify system and airport-specific deficiencies, adequacies and surpluses.
• Identify potential overlaps or gaps in the system.
• Address Federal Aviation Administration’s departure from ground-based navigational aids to a satellite-based system and its impact on Wisconsin.
• Develop cost alternatives to meet system goals and benchmarks.
• Establish a framework for future investments.
• Conduct a system environmental evaluation of the results of the system plan.
• Develop a method to monitor progress of system goals.
All nine chapters and supporting appendices of the Wisconsin State Airport System Plan 2030 can be downloaded by visiting http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/state/air2030.htm. An executive summary is also available. In addition, you can view a 20-minute video, which provides an overview of the Wisconsin Airport System and the Wisconsin State Airport System Plan 2030.
For questions, contact Judy Harding at 608-267-1223, or Judy.Harding@dot.wi.gov.
