Where to land the Planes in the 21st Century
The houses can’t be unbuilt, and the airports can’t be torn down.
But maybe the fences can be mended. –Robbie Sherwood
In the past 10 years, many cities across the country have outgrown the planner’s expectations. Unfortunately the airports that were built 20 or more years ago, have not grown with the cities. Phoenix has tripled in size in the past 10 years. The tripling of air traffic has not had anywhere to go. The same two runways that have been serving the city since 1935 when the airport was built have been extremely over loaded. It is not just happening in Phoenix, a few years ago Denver received a new airport to relieve the overflow of traffic from the older Stapelton Airport. In Irvine California, El Toro Marine Air Base is scheduled to be closed next year, and running into opposition to be converted to civilian use. The changes in the National Airspace System (NAS) are always happening, either in the routing of traffic or the airports on the ground. The problem arises when the traffic routes change faster than the airport system does.
As said above, there are some changes that are going on in the
system right now.
“ To accommodate the growing number of flights operating at Sky
Harbor construction of a new third runway is underway. The 7,800-foot
parallel runway is scheduled for completion in spring 1999”(Sky harbor
International Airport 4).
In Denver the traffic load that was being handled by Stapelton Airport
was too high. When Denver International (DIA) opened in February
1995 it could immediately take three times of the traffic that Stapelton
could the week before.
I believe that the airports around the country and specifically in Phoenix, need to have upgrades and improvements made to support the growing aircraft fleet using them. The NAS (National Airspace System) is constantly changing. The airspace is always changing to support more and more traffic. The older airport system is not able to support the increased traffic. If all the sides were looked at, the advantages to having a strong air travel system in a large city far outweigh the drawbacks. When the busiest two-runway airport in the world (Phoenix), has to go through 7 years of red tape bureaucracy to get a runway built, something is wrong with the picture. The procedure should be modified so that changes can be made to the facility when it needs to, not 10 years later.
The way to get this done is that we need to start an awareness
campaign to let our government know what we want. We live with a
democratic government, so we should take advantage of it to speak out for
something we want. The most effective way of making our congressman
aware of the issue is through a writing campaign. We need to write and
have our friends write to get the word out that airports are needed. If
the rule makers are aware that there are many people that do want aviation,
it might speed up the process.
Speaking about airport expansion, “There are only 3 runways expansion
projects in the country right now on the drawing board, Phoenix, Orlando,
and Cleveland. It takes an extraordinarily large amount of red tape
to get a runway built, or lengthened” (Sullivan 10-27-98). When I
speak of red tape, I mean the bureaucratic process to get the necessary
approvals to get anything done. The city of Phoenix is building another
parallel runway south of the ramp of the existing two runways. It
has been in process for 7 years, it is scheduled to be done March of 2000.
I don’t think that it should take 7 years for a runway expansion project
to get approved by the powers that be, especially when it is for the busiest
per runway airport in the world. If we would let the politicians know that
the general public would like more runways, then the process might get
sped up a little.
The other issue why are there being more runways built at Sky Harbor
when there are three bigger runways in a unpopulated area 20 miles southeast
of Sky Harbor. We need to utilize Williams Gateway Airport.
East of Phoenix, near Mesa is the old Williams Air Force base.
It was decommissioned in 1992, and since has been sitting relatively idle
as a general aviation airport. With the facilities available it is
a shame that it does not get used more. Williams has three 11,000’
concrete runways, for comparison Phoenix Sky harbor airport has two 10,000’
asphalt runways. (Concrete is a better material to build out of, especially
in the desert where high tempters are hard on surfaces.) With all
the available resources, nothing is getting done, due to the fact that
the process is getting caught up in the “red tape”, bureaucratic process
I mentioned earlier. The hearings on what will happen have been constantly
going on. At a recent session by the Mesa City Council the leader
of the “Southeast Valley Neighborhood Coalition” Rick Temple came to the
Microphone and in a very blunt statement said. “The residents of the area
would not stand for a commercial reliever airport so near their neighborhood”(Sherwood
2). While in the same article it says
“The recent uprising of thousands of outraged East Valley residents
is not likely to throw Williams Gateway off its course to become a reliever
airport for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, it will just delay
it.”(Sherwood 1).
It is apparent that the airport will eventually have a terminal built
and there will be commercial aviation service that serves the Williams
airport, but the red tape must get dealt with first. That is
why the citizens in support for it need to speak out, so the process can
be conducted in a more expeditious manner.
It is obvious that the greatest concern of all the so-called outraged
residents is noise. It is reasonable that aircraft noise is not the
nicest thing to have over your house every day, but the real question comes
down to be the noise harmful.
“The fact that aircraft noise is not a significant risk to hearing may
seem surprising to anyone who has been outdoors when a jet has flown overhead
during takeoff or landing. If experienced continuously, such noise
would cause significant hearing loss. However, as the noise only
lasts for a short time and is intermittent rather than constant, the chance
of hearing loss is negligible”(Aircraft noise in the vicinity of Airports
1).
Aircraft noise although a significant annoyance has not been proven
to cause any long-term damage to your hearing. There have been a
few studies that have said that living under the path of an airport causes
a significant decline in quality of life. While who is to choose what is
your quality of life. I would not like it if there were a major airport
built in the immediate vicinity of my house. While every house I
have lived at since I was born was within 5 miles of an airport. The noise
that I hear and everybody else hears is bearable. You get used to
it.
It always seems that airplanes are too loud for someone. Airplanes are not quite, but they are not as loud as people seem to think. “It is a proven fact that roadways are louder than 90% of aviation activities. While aviation has a 68db general rule while roadways have a 74db rule”(Sullivan 10-28-98). In Phoenix 70% of the flights that arrive and depart are stage 3.
“Commercial jet engines currently meet either Stage 2 or Stage 3 noise standards. Stage 2 engines are older and noisier than Stage3 engines. By the year 2000, most jet engines used in the United States will meet Stage 3 noise standards, In general, Stage 3 aircraft are 10db quieter than Stage 2 aircraft, which represents a halving of perceived noise”(Flying Off Course 4).
Why is it that highways are being built at an alarming rate while it
is next to impossible to get airports built let alone existing airports
expanded.
When looking at all the available options for airports it is apparent
that there is a problem. Airports are not quite, when compared to
roads and highways, all of a sudden airports become very quite. But
the majority of the public owns a car, if the majority of the public owned
an aircraft I would bet that the argument is different.
I would like to know what Rick Temple would say when industry moves
in with the airport and makes his nice little neighborhood a multi billion
dollar a year industry and the land value of his house triples for the
business that want to move in need the land.
Strictly looking at the numbers for Phoenix Sky Harbor and the surrounding area should be convincing enough for a strong aviation system. Phoenix is the largest city in the country that only has one air carrier served airport. When I speak of air carriers I am referring to commercial aviation such as America West or United Airlines.
When you consider how busy Sky Harbor is and the fact that there are only has two runways, logically you would look elsewhere or look to expansion. When an airport is such a vital artery for a city’s business community, it is vital to have a smooth and strong aviation operation.
As illustrated by the chart, the economic contributions of an
airport to a community are huge. It is not just the tourism that
it aviation contributes to. Most of the travelers in the commercial
air traffic system are business travelers. The Internet might be
a great asset, but a handshake and a night on the town with your client
still does wonders for business.
(Phoenix Airport System Total direct & indirect Impact 2)
Looking at the Annual Economic Impact alone, $16.3 billion dollars
brought in to the Phoenix metro area. That is only from one major airport,
what would the possibilities be with 2 large commercial airports.
The City of Phoenix Aviation Department would sum it up as saying.
“Total economic impact from Phoenix Sky Harbor is the sum of primary
and induced impacts, measuring the jobs, payrolls and total expenditures
contributed to the Metropolitan Phoenix economy”(Economic Impact of the
Phoenix Airport System 2).
That is talking about total impact, you could also break it down, also illustrated in the chart with employment and payroll. Also the Phoenix airspace system is not only composed of just one airport. The Phoenix metro area has several reliever airports that also contribute a huge part to the economic impact of aviation. Deer Valley and Goodyear also contribute 71 million dollars in economic activity (1). In the northeast valley is Scottsdale airport.
With all of this positive action going on in the world of Phoenix aviation, people are still complaining. It always seems that there is always going to be that small group of people that have too much time on their hands and want to try to ruin some thing great.
We should not write to tell our council members to try and come to a compromise. It is possible to get the flight paths changed around airports. Scottsdale airport has one of the highest concentrations of business jets in the country. The residents, the FAA, and the City Council have all worked together to come up with a compromise. It is well publicized what the procedures for noise abatement around Scottsdale are. I was able to find an entire listing of all the actions and recommendations that have been put into practice.
“The Scottsdale Airport (SDL) Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) describes
the current and future non compatible land uses based on the parameters
as established in FAR part 150, Airport Noise Compatibility Planning.
The noise compatibility program includes 12 recommended noise abatement
elements, 11 land use management elements, and five program management
elements (Scottsdale Noise Compatibility Program 1).
In Scottsdale everybody came to a happy middle ground, it could
be possible to do at Williams.
It is the bad reputation that goes with the territory that is creating the problem. If people would take the time educate themselves about all the issues, things might run a little bit smoother. When there are people getting up and saying that the will not tolerate something, but then when they give no other options it does not solve anything or make them look very good. There is an issue, there are solutions if everybody would work together it would work out fine, it did in Scottsdale. I can speak from first hand experience that pilots do not mind flying for an extra 30 seconds to avoid flying over a neighborhood. “The houses can’t be unbuilt, and the airport can’t be torn down. But maybe the fences can be mended”(Sherwood 1).
What we need to do is write to the Mesa and Gilbert City Council including
the mayors. It is the City counsel that has the jurisdiction of what
will happen to the facility at Williams Airport. We need to
write and tell them that we want the $11.1 billion annual influx from aviation
to be higher. The rule makers need to know that the 23,000 jobs that are
located on the airport at Sky harbor and the 10,000 off airport aviation
jobs need to be higher. With an expected economic impact of $22 billion
in 2005, it should be $25 billion. With an unused facility like Williams,
it should not be a problem for Phoenix to become a national force in the
aviation community.
Gilbert City Council
Mayor Cynthia Dunham mayor@ci.gilbert.az.us (602) 892-1505
Vice Mayor Larry Morrison morrison@ci.gilbert.az.us (602)
926-4318
Councilmember Jo Albright albright@ci.gilbert.az.us (602)
830-8580
Councilmember Maggie Cathey cathey@ci.gilbert.az.us (602) 497-8873
Councilmember David Crozier crozier@ci.gilbert.az.us (602) 497-8873
Councilmember Mike Evans evans@ci.gilbert.az.us (602) 892-7669
Councilmember Phil Long long@ci.gilbert.az.us (602) 892-7269
Kent Cooper, Town Manager kentc@ci.gilbert.az.us
Mesa City Council
Mayor Wayne Brown wayne_brown@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-2388
Vice mayor John C. Giles councilmember_giles@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-4002
Councilmember Jim Davidson councilmember_davidson@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-3004
Councilmember Keno Hawker councilmember_hawker@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-3772
Councilmember Bill Jaffa councilmember_Jaffa@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-3771
Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh dennis_kavanaugh@ci.mesa.az.us
(602) 644-4003
Works Cited
“Aircraft Noise in the Vicinity of Airports – Implication for Human Health.” 20 July 1998. Minister of Public Works and Government Services. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dataehd/English/IYH/aircraft.htm (28 Oct. 1998).
“Denver International Airport.” Denver International Airport General Information. http://infodenver.denver.co.us/aviation/public_html/z401-3.html (2 Dec. 1998).
“Denver International Airport’s First Week of Operation Exceeds Expectations.” 8 March 1995. Denver International Airport. http://infodenver.denver.co.us/~aviation/news.archive.95/news0308951.htm (2 Dec. 1998).
“Economic Impact-Air Travelers & Tourists.” City of Phoenix Aviation Dept. http://www.phxskyharbor.com/eco_impact/page_5.html (28 Oct. 1998).
“Flying Off Course, environmental Impacts of America’s Airports.” NRDC. http://www.nrdc.org/nrdc/nrdcpro/nrdcpro/foc/aairglos.html (2 Dec 1998).
“Mayor and Council Information.” Town of Gilbert Website Directory. http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/council/council.htm (2 Dec. 1998)
“Mayor and City Council phone numbers and serving terms.” 7 July 1998. City of Mesa. <Wysiwyg://71/http://www.ci.mesa.az.us/citymgt/c03.htm> (2 Dec. 1998).
“Noise Compatibility Plan.” Detroit Metro Airport Noise Mitigation Office. http://www.metroairport.com/noise/ncmpln.htm (28 Oct. 1998).
“Phoenix Airport System Total Direct & Indirect Impact.” City of Phoenix Aviation Department. http://www.phxskyharbor.com/eco_impact/page_1.html (28 Oct. 1998).
“Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport General Information” 8 July 1998. Sky Harbor International Airport. http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/AVIATION/airports.html (2 Dec. 1998).
“Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.” List of Airport Tables. http://www.nrdc.org/nrdc/nrdcpro/nrdcpro/foc/phazps.html (2 Dec. 1998).
“Record of Approval: Scottsdale Airport Noise Compatibility Program.” Federal Aviation Administration. http://www.faa.gov/arp/app600/14cfr150/roasdl.html (28 Oct. 1998).
“Scottsdale Airport General Information.” City of Scottsdale Transportation. http://www.ci.scottsdale.az.us/airport/general_info.asp (28 Oct. 1998).
Sherwood. Robbie. “Airports Runway to future Bumpy: Olive Branches offered to Williams Neighbors.” Arizona Republic. 25 Oct. 1998, community ed.; EV1+.
Sullivan, George. Personal Interview. 27 Oct. 1998.
“What’s New.” Williams Gateway Airport. http://www.flywga.org/whatsnew.htm
(2 Dec. 1998)