Residents in this US city use airplanes to commute!
Cars and garages on the streets are a common sight in cities but can you imagine the streets filled with hangars and airplanes? Sounds interesting, right? Cameron Park in California, USA is packed with residents who own planes and park them right outside their houses like regular cars. Did you know that the US is home to 610 of the world's 630 airparks?
Although the pilot population grew from 34,000 in 1939 to over 400,000 by 1946, several airfields remained untouched after World War II. These were later converted into residential airparks by the aviation authority to enliven unutilized lanes and retired military pilots. The Cameron Airpark was constructed in 1963. Every home is built with hangars either inside, or outside in contact with the house.
The Cameron Airport was also built in 1963 along with the airpark, which is for aviation enthusiasts and pilots. Some bigger fly-in communities also have on-site restaurants, shops, and country clubs. This fly-in community has 124 houses and 20 empty lots. The residents here use their personal airplanes for commuting to work or other places, instead of cars.
The roads have been designed 100 feet wide so pilots can fly the aircraft to the airport easily and take-off from or land the planes right in front of the residents' homes. The wide roads also enable cars and private airplanes to drive alongside each other. The letterboxes and street signs are positioned lower than usual to avoid any damage by the planes' wings.
Each home here has separate or attached garages to park the planes and cars of homeowners. Residents who own planes have remote-controlled electric gates in the garage for smooth parking. Even the streets in the town are all named honoring aviation, for example, Cessna Drive, Boeing Road, and Aeronca Way among others. Raise your hand if you're dying to visit the town!
The Cameron Airpark like any other residential airpark is privately-owned and outsiders are prohibited to use the property without permission. There are around 426 residential airparks in the US, with 50 airparks in Washington, 23 in Oregon, 28 in California, and 52 in Florida. Cameron Park gained popularity following a TikTok video uploaded by @thesoulfamily. The viral video garnered 4.8 million views.
