Originally Posted by
SeenItAll
The fact that 28L and 28R are closer together than is desirable is well known. But this seems gratuitous. Taxiway C is to the right of 28R. While it would be a big construction project, why isn't Taxiway C converted into a new 28R, and the current 28R converted into a taxiway? It would seem to be a quick way of gaining another 400-500 feet of separation between 28L and 28R.
The cost would be huge. And for what gain? Unless they are spaced far enough part for simultaneous, independent parallel instrument approaches, what would be the point?
Perhaps 15, 20 years ago, there was a well-designed plan to fill in a portion the bay to make the airport area sufficiently large to have simultaneous, independent parallel instrument approaches. (May have included such spacing for19L/R as well as 28L/R, I don't remember.) The proposal included dredging an equivalent area in a different part of the bay so the total water area would net out the same. That replacement was to satisfy the "greens." The locals would have no part of the plan, so it died.
That's California in general and the Bay Area in particular.