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COMMERCIAL AIR TRAFFIC: A cautionary tale

| January 27, 2023 1:00 AM

Not only no, but hell no. Anyone who lived in Southern California should know the result of this somewhat innocuous proposal. In the early years of what is now the Hollywood-Burbank Airport it was a sleepy airfield attached to Lockheed Aircraft for general aircraft use only. It was used by Lockheed during the war to fly out their manufactured aircraft for the war effort.

After World War II, it reverted back to general aviation and Lockheed use. Then some genius decided that they should allow commercial air transportation usage because the drive to LAX was too far and it would bring more industry into this small bedroom community with its quaint olive orchards and wine vineyards.

So it started, more industry came and the orchards and vineyards were replaced by concrete and asphalt along with more and more homes and more airline traffic. It was only propeller driven aircraft at that time, so the disturbance was somewhat tolerable. Then came the jet airliners and the incessant take-offs and landings at all times of the day and night. The air traffic was right over most of the homes and made life somewhat unbearable for most of the people.

Housing prices tumbled and people left. New people moved in and then realized where they bought their homes. They filed lawsuits against the airlines and the airport and the city. The lawsuits forced noise abatement procedures on the airlines which helped some. Also, they received compensation from the airport and city, and the city had to construct noise abatement walls at a cost of millions of dollars. So today that quiet valley of farmhouses with orchards and vineyards is gone, replaced by lots of concrete, asphalt, parking lots and industry that displaced the residents who were enjoying life out of the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

Given a chance, we can endure the same thing. I know the above is true as I lived it.

DENNIS EDELBROCK

Hayden