"Airport noise creates a quality-of-life issue"

Monday, November 26, 2007

Airport noise creates a quality-of-life issue
By ERIK COLE
The Tennessean


This past summer, late one warm night, I was awakened by an airplane
seemingly landing on top of my house.

For several months, east Nashvillians were jarred awake many mornings around
6 a.m., to the sound of plane after plane taking off from the Nashville
International Airport. While we've always had air traffic in east Nashville
- the occasional plane landing late at night, Titans' military flyovers, or
the prop planes at Cornelia Fort Airpark - no one was prepared for this
dramatic increase in air traffic.

Shortly thereafter, my phone began to ring. Callers reported numerous low,
commercial airplanes taking off one after another, morning to night. I
encouraged neighbors to call and e-mail the Airport Authority with their
concerns.

Finally, we learned that the Nashville Airport Authority, acting at the
behest of the Federal Aviation Administration, had altered the flight
pattern to direct planes over east Nashville. According to the FAA, the
normal departure route over downtown was "contrary to the FAA's own
standards." The press release was technical and vaguely mentioned the need
for airplanes to be beyond a three-mile radius of any structure while
climbing.

Pattern was already in violation

It was explained to me by the Airport Authority, after several unsuccessful
phone calls to the FAA, that the FAA had ordered the change. An evaluation
of the Signature Tower's proposed height had uncovered the fact that the
current flight pattern was already in violation of their own policies. In a
growing city, airplane traffic and new skyscrapers are a fact of life. And,
in the age of terrorism, the federal government needs to be vigilant.
However, when changes such as these are necessary, citizens deserve timely
notice.

It has become standard practice for council members and neighborhood
organizations to utilize pubic meetings, the Internet and the media to
notify neighbors about everything from zone changes to crime updates. It is
also common for community input in government decision-making. In this case,
for most of east Nashville, the public notice was the jets roaring overhead.

Just when it seemed that we would have to rally our neighborhoods around
unannounced change, we received welcome news from the Airport Authority. It
seemed the enormous increase in traffic was due, in addition to the policy
change, to a temporarily closed runway. In short, the traffic would ease in
September. September came, and the planes did stop.

Now, we are told that the FAA may be considering yet another flight pattern
change, as the downtown skyline changes. Initial indications are that the
Airport Authority may be able to simply have airplanes climb faster in order
to avoid the Signature Tower.

Commercial planes have to fly over residential areas somewhere in the city.
However, the impact of these concentrated takeoffs and landings have a real
effect on quality of life in our neighborhoods. Our government must
recognize this fact and that they have a responsibility to provide us with
notice of these changes and a chance to offer input in the process.


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