Redmond Airport’s proposed master plan unveiled

What would you like to see happen at the Redmond Municipal Airport?

Wednesday evening, Central Oregonians got their first chance to voice their opinions about the airport’s proposed master plan update.

And by all accounts, it’s an exciting time for the airport. The new master plan takes Central Oregon’s rapid growth into account.

Over the past 20 years, the airport has quadrupled the number of commercial passengers it sees. So there’s potential for a runway expansion for larger aircraft, a two-story terminal and improved parking.

According to the airport director, Zachery Bass, the master plan is all about making sure that growth happens in the right way.

“Where do we expand our runways to allow for growth? How do we expand our parking? How do we expand our general aviation? How do we expand our terminal? All of those are going to be looked at in our master plan,” Bass said.

As far as the travelers go, the ones we talked to said they’re mostly happy with the airport, except for a few minor things.

“I wish they had a small lot close, when you’re coming in for an hour or less, to pick somebody up and I didn’t have to” walk so far, said Bend resident Madelle Friess. “Maybe I’m just getting lazy. I had to park way back in the tooleyberries, (sic). The lots are full today. I was driving around looking for something, but we appreciate the airport and use it a lot,”

Amanda Flatt of Bend said she likes the airport.

“Bend is a personal place, and I think this is nice and personal, but big enough so you can go to Portland, San Francisco,” she said. “And it feels kind of like home still. It’s not too crazy. Mimosas, we need mimosas here — that is what we need, mimosas.”

Redmond Mayor George Endicott said he’s looking forward to seeing the airport’s development

“One day, we will probably go ahead and have the ramps that go straight (to the plane), for example, ” he said. “That could happen, maybe sooner rather than later.”

“It’s an exciting time,” Endicott said. “The airport continues to grow, passenger load continues to grow. We’re really excited about it, but we know we have to face the future.”

There’s no timeline for when the master plan will take effect, and officials say the plan is very flexible and open to public input.

For more information on the proposed master plan you can check out this website: http://www.flyrdm.com/?airport-publications–policies