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Airport News, "Milford, Pennsylvania residents not fans of increasingly friendly skies"
Thursday, November 11, 1999
Milford residents not fans of increasingly friendly skies
Some say Quakertown Airport expansion plan is just a smoke screen for new
type of traffic.
By JOSEPH P. FERRY
Of The Morning Call
Some Milford Township residents are unhappy with a plan to extend the runway
at Quakertown Airport by 600 feet and build 20 hangars and a new terminal.
''We're not trying to stir up a hornet's nest,'' said Nancy Hagen, who lives
on Mill Road. ''We're just trying to keep neighbors advised with accurate
information.
''But we have 20 years' experience of the [Airport] Authority coming through
the back door and forcing things down our throats by claiming it's needed
for safety reasons.''
Hagen and neighbors will attend a public workshop in the Civil Air Patrol
hangar at the airport tonight, when details of the expansion will be
unveiled.
Members of the Bucks County Airport Authority, which oversees airport
operation, and the engineering firm that designed the expansion will answer
questions about the airport's five-year Action Plan.
Michele Smith, whose house on Hillcrest Road is in the airport's flight
path, said she's afraid the expansion will lead to bigger, more powerful
planes using the runway.
''I think we'll see the corporate jet type of planes come here more
frequently if they do that,'' said Smith, who, along with Hagen, has begun
distributing an airport newsletter to Milford residents. ''Why else would
they want to extend the runway? It's fine for the planes that use the
airport now.''
But Ron Deck of L. Robert Kimball & Associates, which put together the plan,
said the expansion is not aimed at attracting a different mix of airplanes.
The goal is to make the airport safer, he said.
''It will continue to be for airplanes that weigh 12,500 pounds or less,''
he said.
Allen D. Black, Airport Authority chairman, could not be reached for
comment.
Deck said the workshop will consist of four information stations: one that
explains the airport's facilities, one that presents four expansion
alternatives, one that offers cost estimates for each alternative and one
that will allow residents to comment on the proposals.
Smith, a member of the Citizens Planning Group that was formed in the summer
to monitor development of the airport's Action Plan, said extending the
runway from 3,200 feet to 3,800 feet would leave Quakertown with a longer
runway than many surrounding airports. Doylestown's runway, for example, is
3,004 feet while Pottstown/Limerick's is 3,371. Pennridge Airport in East
Rockhill Township, which caters to a mostly corporate clientele, has a
4,215foot runway.
Hagen, who has lived next to the airport since 1973, said arguing against
what are portrayed as safety improvements may seem callous. But she said the
Airport Authority uses safety issues as a smoke screen for expansion.
''They constantly keep inviting larger and larger planes in here,'' she
said. ''It's not going to benefit the people who live here one bit.''
Hagen said expansion would mean more air traffic, noise and hazards.
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