Shoreline resident takes on airplane noise

Shoreline resident Jean Hilde has an issue with airplane noise over her home on the east side of Shoreline.

Briefly, this past year Next-Gen moved all incoming air traffic, which used to approach Seatac using multiple routes, into one narrow approach path.  That path is basically along the I-5 corridor with its northern access point just above the Shoreline area, meaning hundreds of jet aircraft are now descending over our homes every single day, often as frequently as a plane every two minutes, with virtually no breaks in-between.

She reports that you can watch this happening on the Port of Seattle's free PublicVue flight tracker, available here. Click on "flight tracking" in the top left corner, accept the user agreements, and you will be taken to the map.

According to Jean, the FAA claims that Next-Gen, which uses GPS navigation instead of ground-based navigation, is more efficient and environmentally friendly, claims that have yet to be substantiated. What is unquestionable is that Next-Gen has concentrated all incoming flights into one path, meaning the noise of all incoming flights is now also concentrated along that one path, rather than shared across the Puget Sound area as it was prior to Next-Gen.

If you live anywhere near the I-5 corridor, you are now under what is in essence an aircraft "super-highway", a highway that was put in place without your knowledge or your permission, and which is negatively impacting your peace and quiet, probably your health, and very possibly your property value.

She has an appointment with Sen. Maria Cantwell's staff this week to talk about the recent implementation of the FAA's Next-Gen aviation program and the endless stream of aircraft over our heads that has resulted. 

 

I would like to be able to show Sen. Cantwell that there are many of us whose lives have been impacted by Next-Gen. 

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