FAA Great Lakes Regional Administrator Barry Cooper (center) talks with Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson and Itasca Mayor Jeff Pruyn in front of nearly 2,000 comment cards and printed emails delivered by the two mayors, Elk Grove Village trustees, Elk Grove officials and residents to the last of four FAA hearings at Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Thursday.
Elk Grove Village Mayor and Suburban O’Hare Commission (SOC) Chairman Craig Johnson, Itasca Mayor Jeff Pruyn, local officials and residents arrived at Thursday’s hearing on O’Hare Airport armed with 16 boxes filled with nearly 2,000 comment cards addressing airport noise.
From there, the comments were marched into a Federal Aviation Administration hearing at an Elk Grove Village banquet hall and presented directly to FAA Great Lakes Regional Administrator Barry Cooper.
As FAA staffers sorted the comment cards and emails, Johnson and Pruyn walked with Cooper through a series of exhibits meant to inform the public on progress of the O’Hare Modernization Plan (OMP), showing both current and projected noise impacts and flight paths around O’Hare. Johnson said he took the time to explain his and other SOC community residents’ concerns and explained what was being presented from his perspective.
Johnson said both Cooper and new Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans have been open and receptive to hearing suggestions, something that has not always been the case through the years especially with Chicago officials who oversee O’Hare.
A contract between the airlines and FAA to use O’Hare is up for renewal in 2018. Johnson said he wants to see a more robust “Fly Quiet” regulations in place with consequences for violating, and would like the FAA to consider other recommendations expected in a report by aviation experts hired by SOC.
Among those expected recommendations is a steeper glide slope for aircraft landing at O’Hare. SOC consultant Bill DeBlazo said a steeper glide slope would mean less noise for those below. Cooper told the Journal & Topics the existing three-degree glide slope is the safest.
FAA officials recently changed flight patterns for aircraft on approach to O’Hare from using a series of stepped drops in altitude to a straight three-degree glide.
Johnson said the difference in stepped down glide slopes and the direct three-degree slope would not change much for communities closer to the airport. He said he understands O’Hare expansion is happening and said he wants to work with Chicago and the FAA to ensure the airport is a good neighbor.
One issue both SOC and local coalition Fair Allocation in Runways (FAiR) have pushed for is keeping two diagonal northwest-to-southeast runways, long the primary workhorses of O’Hare, open. Cooper said, “Our focus is on parallel (east-west) runways. Many (FAA) rules make use of the diagonals more complex.”
Addressing cross traffic, FAA Public Affairs Officer Tony Molinaro said new taxiways at O’Hare come in behind runways and no longer cross runways. Although aircraft taxi a greater distance, Molinaro said the “freeflow” configuration keeps planes moving, making the ride to the gate or runway further but faster for passengers.
Thursday’s hearing was the fourth and final FAA hearing on noise impacts from new runway construction in the OMP.
From Monday, Aug. 10 through Thursday, Aug, 13, the FAA collected 3,690 comments and saw 2.230 people attend four hearings in Niles, Chicago, Bensenville and Elk Grove Village.
Of the 2,230 attending, FAA officials said 600 attended Monday’s hearing at White Eagle Banquets in Niles, 400 attended the hearing in Chicago, 800 in Bensenville and 411 in Elk Grove Village.
Molinaro said a planned runway, which would see arrivals-only from the west, in line with Irving Park Road, would most affect Bensenville and was in part responsible for the higher turnout there.
The FAA also collected 3,690 comments on airport noise from members of the public, including 1,800 printed postcard-style comment cards collected by Elk Grove Village not including printed emails also collected by the village, Molinaro said.
Source: http://www.journal-topics.com
A map models flight tracks of aircraft coming in and out of O'Hare Airport at Thursday's FAA hearing. The green dot represents Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Village where the hearing was held.
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