GA Runway May Be Expanded For Commercial Traffic

Opponents of a proposed extension to a runway at Florida's Palm Beach International Airport recently gained a powerful ally -- West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel.

The Palm Beach Post reports six area residents, who live under the flight path for runway 9L/27R have banded together to thwart the FAA's three-year, $1 million environmental study on lengthening the runway from its current 3,200-foot length, to 8,000 feet. The plan would allow two parallel runways to operate for commercial traffic -- one for landings, another for takeoffs.

Airport officials say the move is necessary to prevent delays, as the airport gains airline traffic over the next 10 years... but many neighbors, led by Frankel, say the FAA needs to consider the impact on noise and livability of their homes.

"We are asking our federal authorities to continue to make process to lessen the noise and lessen the pollution that these people deal with every single day," Frankel said. "We are asking the public to come out and support us."

To be fair, many of the residents living near the airport aren't the usual NIMBY crowd; some homes date back over 80 years, and residents have for the most part grown accustomed to the steady stream of light aircraft traffic flying overhead.

Jet airliners, on the other hand, are an entirely different animal.

"This is not just about noise pollution," said Vedado Neighborhood Association president Jose Rodriguez. "It is also about the fact that the lifestyles are going to be changed forever." Rodriguez's neighborhood lies just east of a neighborhood where some 350 homes were purchased, then bulldozed, over proximity concerns.

"This is PBIA on steroids," added Al Vazquez, president of the Parker Ridge neighborhood, to the Post. "They are building capacity into this airport that nobody wants and nobody needs."

Airport officials disagree with that statement.

"The key here is to handle the volume," airport spokeswoman Lisa De La Rionda said. "There is one piece of pavement to deal with this. Not only are they dealing with this cluster of departures, but they are also dealing with arrivals."

On Sunday, she notes, 718 flights were recorded on the airport's monitoring system... and that number is only going to increase. By 2018, delays at PBI could be as long as 20 minutes; with the runway extension, officials say the number would drop to five minutes.

Mayor Frankel's office has contacted area Congressman Ron Klein, as well as US Senator Bill Nelson, imploring both legislators to speak out against the extension. Rodriguez has also started a petition drive, seeking to cut off funding for the extension.

"In the end, it's federal," Frankel (above, right) said. "If there is not money to expand, they are not going to be able to expand."

FMI: www.cityofwpb.com/mayor/mayor.htm