Southwest Florida International Airport. Editorial: Airport noise ... At least Estero neighbors had a chance to be heard.

The Estero area has completed an exercise and public comment period on airport noise.

Consultants to the Federal Aviation Administration came to our area to hear concerns and ideas or options for revised flight patterns at Southwest Florida International Airport.

We are reminded that community is a balancing act between progress and the status quo, and we are all in this together.

For the most part, comments at public hearings came from residents who had little idea that traffic and noise would be issues in neighborhoods that were peaceful and quiet when they moved in — even if only a few years ago.

It is good that these residents had the opportunity to be heard. Chalk that up to efforts by the Estero Council of Community Leaders, a group committed to that area’s quality of life.

The noise situation invites comparisons with the experiences at Naples Municipal Airport, which, like Southwest Florida International, was “there first” in most cases.

One difference: We heard nobody in south Lee belittle complainers as we did, and still do, in Naples.

Another difference: There is more public benefit from the international airport’s commercial jet traffic than there is with the private jet traffic at Naples.

In both situations, as is the case with traffic on the ground, we see there are few easy solutions. When problems are relieved in one area, they usually are merely moved to another.

Source:  http://www.naplesnews.com