Lining Old San Jose Road, the protesters brandished picket signs, waved American flags, handed out ear plugs and chanted, “Too loud, too low, too many.” When passing drivers honked in support, they cheered. Many pledged to participate in a national No Fly Day on Oct. 24 in protest.
It was their latest salvo in their campaign, which began when planes began flying the new path in March, against the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide plan called NextGen to change flight routes, including at San Francisco International Airport.
The transition from a ground-based air traffic control system to a satellite system is aimed at reducing air traffic congestion with more direct and condensed routing into airports.
“I used to wake up to the birds, now I wake up to planes,” said Kathleen Nestler, a Summit resident. “Day and night, it’s just constant. There’s really no break.”
Meanwhile, at Loma Prieta Elementary School on Summit Road, representatives from the FAA met with leaders from the neighborhood group Save Our Skies Santa Cruz and local elected officials and their aides in a private meeting. Neither the public nor the press were allowed to attend the meeting. From the FAA, regional manager Glen Martin and his assistant Steve May, vice president of Mission Control Elizabeth Ray and FAA spokesman Ian Gregor attended the meeting.
“We found the FAA much more responsive than we thought they might be,” said Patrick Meyer, co-founder of Save Our Skies. “They listened to our concerns and talked about a timeline in terms of getting back to us on a number of things.”
Regarding the speed breaks, the FAA said that’s something it could start working on now. As for raising the altitude of descending planes, the FAA said it would get back to Save Our Skies in about six months.
The FAA also expressed interest in a future public meeting.
“The meeting was productive. It’s a good first step,” said Alec Arago, district director for Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel. “I think the congressman feels this is the dialogue that should have preceded the decision to move the route.”
Save Our Skies wants the FAA to rescind the new path and revert back to the old one until the FAA holds a public hearing and conduct an environmental impact report. This point has drawn criticism from other residents in the county who see their complaints as NIMBYism.
Members say, however, the old flight path differs significantly than the new one, which is more condensed with new decent procedures. Other communities across the nation, from Phoenix, New York and the San Francisco Peninsula, have decried NextGen.
“We listened to their concerns, received a number of suggestions and are committed to evaluating potential short- and long-term options that could help address their concerns,” the FAA’s Gregor said.
“We woke up on March 5, and our lives were changed,” said Denise Stansfield, who started Save Our skies. “With no notice public hearing, nothing.”
The FAA held public meetings in San Jose, San Mateo, Oakland and Sacramento in 2014. In the Santa Cruz area, there was no community outreach beyond notifying county, state and federal representatives.
Since the new flight path’s roll out, members of Save Our Skies have flooded the SFO noise abatement office and elected officials with complaints, requesting that the FAA come to Santa Cruz to hear their concerns and to talk about solutions.
Source: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com
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