SFO expansion
A question from a non-pilot.
Those of us who live in the Bay Area are all too familiar with SFO delays in low vis conditions. Caused - I've always been told - by the need to essentially cut takeoffs/landings in half because the runways are so close together that modern jetliners can't safely operate in parallel at that airport without optimal visibility.
Are the "sporty" maneuvers requested by SFO controllers motivated entirely by noise abatement requirements, or does it have something to do with the closely spaced runways? Would moving the runways farther apart make any difference?