The Ninth Circuit in San Francisco recently voted that since the noise level was not above 65 decibels (recently raised from 55 decibels) the Federal Aviation Administration did not have to be subject to any environmental impact requirements. Therefore, the FAA’s brilliant “four post” plan remains above reproach.
If the airplanes landing and taking off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport do not make significant noise why are they continuously being routed farther and farther in a direct line before they turn? A normal person would think with our proximity to vast bodies of water a logical approach and departure pattern would fly over the least-populated areas. The air traffic is growing rapidly. Like Interstate 5 and 405, there seem to be fewer times when there is not gridlock somewhere in the system. Air traffic continues to get heavier. Older-model planes carrying freight and mail land and take off throughout the night.
The noise can lift one from a sound slumber to wide-eyed anger at 3:21 on a Sunday morning. If their noise is insignificant, then why are their routes suddenly being shifted? Hundreds of planes landing and departing Sea-Tac are using a narrow corridor that runs almost due north from the airport. Seattle is located in the northwest corner of the country.Probably less than 10 percent of air traffic leaving Sea-Tac goes north. Flights go to the east, south and west. How did this dingbat idea get implemented? Try looking at a map of the Puget Sound area. A logical takeoff or landing route is to come in the most direct route over the least-populated area. A map shows that, whoops, that would be over Mercer Island and maybe Medina. After living in a quiet residential neighborhood for over 20 years, the gods of our airport traffic routing have deigned to destroy our peace and well-being. Since it is doubtful that rapid ground transportation will exist in our area in the foreseeable future, why not route air traffic over the least-populated areas and close the airport between midnight and 6 a.m.? To come in with this “four post” plan and try to sell it as logical is both ludicrous and insulting.- Joe Royer, Seattle