Saturday, April 21, 2012
If we, as a community, would be willing to allow a 95 decibel guideline, as measured at the property line, for a period of less than 10 minutes for an event such as SnowGlobe, then why would we not be willing to re-examine the criteria for noise restrictions at the South Lake Tahoe Airport in the same manner? The potential positive economic impact to the community of having a successful commercial airline service would be far greater — and with fewer undesirable side effects. The demographics for air travel customers would support improved local employment in restaurants, our seasonal trades and in the entertainment sector. All our business base would stand to gain in the long run, which would allow us to speed the rate of environmental improvements.
As a test, I would propose that we encourage a plan to invite several air carriers to submit a business-friendly proposal that is most likely to be successful to them and sensitive to the community needs as well. A well-planned and limited number of operations using larger, newer and quieter aircraft could well be worth just 10 minutes of noise per day, and bring hundreds of people who are financially of above-average income into and out of the South Lake Tahoe area daily. These people, many of whom have intensive, economically productive lives but not as much spare time, would be more likely to visit or to buy a second home or stay here if they could get in an out more effectively than flying into Sacramento or Reno and then driving to South Lake Tahoe.
As a community, we are missing a share of the higher-income demographic due to a lack of adequate commercial air service. We should be more accessible to those whose time is scarce. Go Tahoe Valley Airport!
David H. Brock
Zephyr Cove
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com
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