Wed, Mar 14, 2007
Nine Year FAA Study Nearing End
Opponents to an FAA plan that would
potentially redirect aircraft over certain residential areas near
the Philadelphia International Airport received a promise this week
from the chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the
FAA.
Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL) told Delaware County
leaders that lawmakers would give "serious consideration" to
opponents' concerns, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The
politician was invited to the meeting by fellow representative Joe
Sestak (D-PA).
The pols heard more than two hours of comments from the county
leaders. Sestak had also assembled a panel of experts for the
gathering that offered challenges to the current FAA plan to
redesign the airspace in the Philadelphia and New York areas.
Costello linked opponent's concerns to current legislation on
FAA funding. His subcommittee is going to host a series of five
meetings this week for hearings on the proposal, to change the
formula the government uses to pay for the air traffic control
system. The legislation also includes reauthorizing the FAA for
four more years.
How to reduce air traffic delays at PHL and four New York area
airports has been a topic closely studied for the past nine years
by the FAA. Alternatives explored have included changing takeoff
and landing patterns.
The FAA is expected to reveal its recommendations later this
month.
One of the alternatives involves fanning departing aircraft in
five directions over south Jersey and Delaware County. As Aero-News reported,
aircraft departing to the west now fly primarily over the Delaware
River until reaching 3,000' MSL, thus reducing ground-level
noise.
The expert panel advised that fanning departures "could
seriously damage the quality of life in nearby communities."
Temple University research fellow Shirley Loveless analyzes
transportation policies and their effect on communities. She
contends the FAA study "had failed to look at numerous
quality-of-life and transportation-planning issues" such as
long-term health effects of increased noise.
"You can't let the quality of life go down," Sestak said.
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