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<br />as well as by the types of aircraft used <br />and the nature of available facilities. <br /> <br />Recognizing this, it is intended to <br />develop a Master Plan for San Marcos <br />Municipal Airport that will be demand- <br />based rather than time-based. As a <br />result, the reasonable levels of activity <br />potential that are derived from this <br />forecasting effort will be related to the <br />planning horizon levels rather than <br />dates in time. These planning horizons <br />will be established as levels of activity <br />that will call for consideration of the <br />implementation of the next step in the <br />Master Plan program. This will be <br />further described in subsequent <br />chapters of this Master Plan. <br /> <br />Although publically owned and <br />operated, an airport is, in many ways, <br />very similar to the private business <br />environment. Airports provide much <br />needed services to the community and <br />have to recognize their position and <br />establish well planned goals in order to <br />better serve the community. Marketing <br />efforts and facility development are <br />matched to goals so that the airport can <br />best serve the community. <br /> <br />In order to fully assess current and <br />future aviation demand for San Marcos <br />Municipal Airport, an examination of <br />several key factors is needed. These <br />include: national and regional aviation <br />trends, historical and forecast <br />socioeconomic and demographic <br />information of the area and competing <br />transportation modes and facilities. <br />Consideration and analysis of these <br />factors will ensure a comprehensive <br />outlook for future aviation demand at <br />the San Marcos Municipal Airport. <br /> <br />LOCAL SOCIOECONOMIC <br />FEATURES <br /> <br />The local socioeconomic conditions <br />provide an important baseline <br />consideration for preparing aviation <br />demand forecasts. While in most cases <br />local socioeconomic variables such as <br />population, employment and income <br />cannot be relied upon to indicate the <br />growth or decline of aviation demand, <br />these factors can provide an important <br />indicator for understanding the <br />dynamics of the community and in <br />particular the trends in economic <br />growth. <br /> <br />For this study, socioeconomic variables <br />for the city of San Marcos, Hays and <br />Caldwell Counties, and the Austin-San <br />Marcos metropolitan statistical area <br />(MSA) have been considered. The <br />Austin-San Marcos MSA consists of <br />Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and <br />Williamson Counties. Information <br />specific to individual cities was obtained <br />from the Texas Water Development <br />Board and the City of San Marcos, <br />while County and MSA information was <br />gathered from Woods and Poole CEEDS <br />2000. <br /> <br />POPULATION <br /> <br />Table 2A summarizes historical and <br />forecast population estimates for area <br />cities, Hays and Caldwell County, and <br />the Austin-San Marcos MSA. As shown <br />in the table, each segment has <br />experienced population growth over the <br />decade. The City of San Marcos has <br />experienced the largest percentage <br />growth, increasing four percent <br /> <br />2-2 <br />