Have an opinion about the Metropolitan Airports Commission's new plan to redirect air traffic over Southwest Minneapolis?
Then mark out either Thursday or Tuesday evening in your calendars—the MAC is holding two public meetings on its new plan, which could see more planes directed over a smaller slice of the city. The Nov. 8 meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Crosstown Covenant Church at 5540 30th Avenue South in Minneapolis. The Nov. 13 meeting takes place at the Eagan Community Center at 1501 Central Parkway, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
According to the Star-Tribune, the FAA wants to fully implement a new set of navigation technologies at the Minneapolis-St. Paul international airport. The plan pushes airplanes into tight corridors, limiting the potential for collisions and reducing the noise burden on large parts of the community, but increasing the burden on select areas.
Maps provided by MAC, posted above, show that with current air traffic volumes, the portions of the Armatage, Windom, and Kenny neighborhoods could see around 300 departing flights per day on peak days. Kingfield could see around 100 departing overflights per day at peak times, while other neighborhoods would only get occasional visits by large aircraft. According to a 2011 noise survey conducted by MAC, this traffic is currently distributed more widely over Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. What's not clear, though, is how much of an increase homeowners living direcly under the flight paths would see over what they currently experience.
