airport park taxiway as street 4/29/19831513 Pershing
Salina, Ks. 67401
29 April 1983
tlr, Rufus Nye, City Manager
Mr, Don Jolley, Director of Community Services;
Mr, Keith Rawlings, City Planner i
City of Salina I
300 W. Ash
Salina, Ks, 67401
Gentlemen --
1 ',Y o
I am writing to raise a concern resulting from the recent decision to
dedicate the taxiway at the Airport Park (old airport) for use as a
public street: security on the adjacent runway and access between the
two for formal events.
My initial concerns about continuing, to hold events at this site were
eased when I received verbal assurances that responsible organizations
should have no trouble getting the street closed for properly organized
events. Knowing that this has been done often before -- for everything
from neighborhood block parties to running drag trucks down (roadway in
the middle of a business day -- I feel confident that a request to close
off this new street for formal events should encounter little problem.
The events I have in mind are the major motorsports events now conducted
here by the Sports Car Club of America and the International Karting
Federation -- the SCCA Mirror Khana autocross, IKF's two endurance racing
dates (all three of them two-day events), and SCCA's National Solo II
Championships, a four-day event.
Not long after the Community Services Department took over operation and
control of Airport Park from the City Clerk's office, it addressed the
problem of unauthorized use (especially late at night). As a solution,
a chain-link fence (marked in green on the enclosed map) was installed.
As a user of this site, who in the past has feared losing the use of it
because of the misuse by others, I found this fence a positive addition.
Responsible users lost nothing, but gained additional security.
However, opening the taxiway as a public street, which puts this new
street on the "wrong" side of the present security fence, raises anew
the problem of sealing off the runway from unauthorized misuse while
retaining the flexibility of this unique site which makes Salina such an
attractive venue for certain major events. We have in Airport Park
something no other Kansas community has.
The only solution to this new security problem seems to be a fence or
some other barrier running the length of the runway down the grass islands
between the runway and taxiway.
This raises two additional points: where to put it, and how to retain
access between runway and taxiway,
When you install such a barrier, it will then serve not only the purpose
of keeping unauthorized drivers off the runway, but this a18o will become
a spectator fence for authorized events. And, if installed in the wrong
place, it could become a hazard to competitors.
In making the recommendation below, I write as a licensed Solo II Safety
Steward of the SCCA, familiar with its policies and rules concerning
event safety. While I cannot speak for the IKF, the safety concerns of
both organizations would be virtually identical.
It is likely at both SCCA and IKF events, that spectators would stop and
watch behind this fence running the length of the grass islands. If the
event organizers choose, access to the street may be controlled if the
event intended to charge admission, or access may be left open if admission
was to be free. But in either event, even at events for which spectator
attendance is not solicited (therefore being technically "non -spectator"
events-), we as organizers have some responsibility to ensure that
spectators congregate in safe areas.
If this fence were placed immediately adjacent to the taxiway, these
spectators would end up standing in the street, and parking there also.
If this fence were placed immediately adjacent to the runway, it would
then constitute an unacceptable hazard to drivers competing in SCCA or
IKF events.
My recommendation would be to place this fence down the exact center of
the grass islands. These islands are about 150 feet wide, so such placement
of the fence would leave some 75 feet on either side -- ample both to
provide spectator room and safety while also providing no hazard to
drivers.
That's the simple part. The hard part is access across the six crossovers
between runway and taxiway. For reference, I have numbered them on the
map from #1 at the north end to #6 at the south and.
The Mirror Khana uses #2 for site access, and the course uses #4 and #5.
The National Solo II Championships uses 2, 3, and 4 for site access, 1#5 for
an impound area, and #6 for course.
The IKF races use #4 and #6 for course, and #1 for site access.
The problem: the barrier across these crossovers must be removeable in
some manner. The ends of the permanent fence should be at least 50 feet
from the nearest edge of concrete, meaning a 150 -foot removeable section
at #1 and #6, and a nearly 5;0 -foot removeable section at #2/3 and Ar'415.
Considering that these barriers would be in place most of the time (except
perhaps that at 1#1 to provide access to individuals authorized by the
Community Services Department), it would not be necessary that the
removeability be easy, just possible. In other words, I see no need to
do something costly for easy removeability.
Then again, a simple chain across the crossovers may suffice, with a
post in the middle to support it. Such a post, however, should be
removeable and the hole into which it is placed should not itself be so
large as to constitute a hazard.
I hope that by addressing this letter to each of you three gentlemen,
it will surface in someone's file when the time comes to begin work to
make the taxiway a street, including auxiliary construction such as -
the security barrier east of the street, so that said barrier will be
placed in such a way as to be an asset to the site and not impede any
of its uses.
If I can be of any other assistance as regards the safety considerations
of potential users of Airport Park for motorsports-type events, please
do not hesitate to cal 1 on me.
Sincerely,
. ,, zr-* �
/�c �cc �� - r
��Ro y Entriken