b'RUNWAYSYOO 63benefit is that there are fewer birds on the threshold because there is no grass fullof bugs for them to eat.The change is also designed to have a positive impact on noise. With this extra space, a G500 jet or even a small plane taking off from Runway 12 will be 50 stories higher as it lifts off, resulting in a significant noise reduction, Wilcox explains.In addition to adding a taxiway that connects with the new departure areas at the 12 end, the airport also extended existing Taxiway B by 250 feet at the 12 end. This helped because planes now do not need to turn around and go backward to get to the end of that runway, Wilcox explains. At the Runway 30 end, YOO added 357 feet of pavement and extended the taxiway 607 feet. The normal 200 feet of flat grass threshold was moved back to accommodate these changes.For initial planning, detailed design, tender preparation, contract administration and eventual construction oversight, the airport hired HM Aero, an engineering consultant based in Ottawa, ON, that has worked with YOO since 2019. But this project was different. The firm started the design process in January 2025, and everything (including construction) had to be completed in just 10 months.We employed our detailed knowledge of airport standards and recommended practices in Canada and internationally to optimize the runway as much as possible, so that aircraft could get in the air faster when taking off, resulting in them being at a higher altitude flying over homes, says HM Aero President Adam Martin.We were grateful for the opportunity to bring our niche planning and engineering skills to this assignment, he adds.ADAM MARTINAt the Runway 12 end, we added pavement, allowing for a runway starter extension supporting Runway 12the first of its kind in Canada, Wilcox details.This starter extension is unique because typically, there is a large, flat grassy area before the end of a runway. Depending on an airports certification, it is either a runway strip or runway end safety area. Either way, the purpose is to provide a flat area in case an airplane lands short before the runway, or lands long and runs off the end of the runway. But when aircraft are taking off, these grassy areas serve no purpose. We paved the big flat grass area to allow a pilot to use it for takeoff, thus increasing the runway takeoff length, Wilcox explains. If an airplane lands short, the pilot is now landing on pavement, not grass. And if an airplane trying to land touches down long, the pilot now may overrun the runway onto pavement instead of grass. The other AirportImprovement.comJanuary | February 2026'