Written by Mayor Kathy Keolker’s office sent out a Request-for-Proposals (RFP) for a Renton Jet Center without council approval late last year. When the proposals started coming in, outraged citizens started turning up at council meetings, informing us that they had many, many concerns about this direction for our airport.
The council asked for more time, and for a noise study, before we proceed with a jet center or make any significant long-term leasing decisions.
Here is the latest news from the Seattle Times on this topic. You can get more background by clicking here.
Renton residents worry about airport expansion
By Karen Johnson, 9/30/07
Times Southeast Bureau
More Southeast King County News
As a flight attendant for United Airlines for 40 years, Renton resident Peggi Galster grew accustomed to airport noise and loud planes.
“When I was working, I would cease a conversation when the engines started,” Galster said.
But at her home in the Kennydale neighborhood, Galster says she has to cover her ears when planes fly overhead.
“Renton is shaped like a bowl, and the sound bounces out off the water like it’s a megaphone,” she said.
Galster, like many who live in her Kennydale neighborhood, say noise from planes that fly into and out of Renton Municipal Airport can be unbearable at times. Several proposals to expand the city’s airport has Galster and many more worried that their noise nuisance could become a nightmare.
Galster and a dozen others shared similar stories at a community meeting Wednesday night in Renton. Renton and Mercer Island have agreed to split the cost of the $130,000 study to measure how noise from the airport affects residents in the cities.
Renton city leaders will use the results, expected early next year, to help it create a plan for expansion of the airport.
The study will be conducted by Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, a consultant group out of Massachusetts that studies noise and vibration control.
Mary Ellen Eagan, who will lead the study said the meeting helped identify the needs of the community and determine the scope of the study.
Residents were briefed on the three master-plan alternatives to develop the airport site, which range from recreational to commercial in scope.
Wednesday’s meeting comes months after Renton City Council postponed choosing a master plan for the airport, amid growing backlash from Mercer Island and Renton residents. Residents from both cities complained that the council had not considered community feedback when drafting the three alternatives.
Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com
I think jet noise has increased a lot over the last year or so. I don’t think I could tolerate it at a much higher level.
Also, if there is more jet traffic, I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be an increased risk of cancer and respiratory disease.