Do You Want Commercial Flights At Paine Field?

With Seattle-Tacoma International Airport approaching capacity, the Puget Sound Air Transportation Committee has proposed adding a third runway to Sea-Tac and moving some airline flights to Paine Field within nine years.

Supporters of the plan cite Paine Field's proximity to Seattle, note that only 15 percent of its runway capacity is being used and say a light-rail system will eventually serve the area. But opponents say the area has far too much residential development to allow regularly scheduled airliners and say the added traffic could delay commuters trying to reach work in the county's largest employment center.

Here's what readers think:

My wife and I absolutely oppose the expansion of commercial passenger flights at Paine Field. We cannot ignore the people and the voices of the people who live here in this area and invested their life savings in homes. The draft recommendation was approved by 31 of 37 people who don't even own property in this area. On top of that, existing roads cannot handle congestion.

Tom Dowd, Mukilteo

I do support this plan primarily because we have an Air Force base here that is already built. It would cost too many taxpayers' dollars to build a new airport anywhere in the Puget Sound area.

Dan White, Mountlake Terrace

I am opposed to turning Paine Field into Sea-Tac North. There has been considerable residential development around this area. The effects of commercial traffic, I think, will be negative on the entire area. As a commuter into downtown Seattle, I typically have a 45-minute to one-hour drive, and the worst congestion is out toward this end of the county. By adding additional traffic out to the airport, it's going to definitely make the commute worse and we're going to be far behind in the proposed transit and light-rail system if it is not going to be in place until 2020 to offer any benefits to this overcrowded situation.

John Swanson, Mukilteo

I'm basically in favor of flights to Paine Field. I am a commercial pilot with one of the regional carriers in the Northwest.

From approximately the end of '87 to the end of '88, San Juan Airlines did serve Paine Field; flights to Portland and back. Small commuter planes, 19-seaters, would be unnoticeable at Paine Field. I think what people are worried about is 727s, which are very noisy, or larger airplanes.

Allan Williams, Mountlake Terrace

I am strongly opposed to the expansion of Sea-Tac on to Paine Field. I oppose it enough that I started a petition drive (that gathered) over 2,000 signatures. Yes, it will impact the roads. I think that airlines should take a look at what they're doing to relieve some of the congestion at Sea-Tac. I understand they have 100 flights a day to Portland, 100 flights a day to Vancouver, 10 flights every hour to those two destinations with half-empty planes. Maybe they should regulate themselves even though they've been deregulated by the FAA. I think that would go a long way.

Loretta Jackson, Mukilteo

They are not taking into account the noise level the new flights will bring. I moved to Edmonds to get away from air-traffic noise. If I wanted to be around a lot of airplane traffic I would move down south near Sea-Tac. The amount of air traffic that there is there (at Paine Field) now is OK. Just because we have the capacity doesn't mean that someone can come in and start using it. Even with quieter planes, I've lived near airports where even the quietest planes make noise. The disruption from air-traffic noise will be at least as great an impact on our community as will ground traffic.

Bob Hackley, Edmonds

I was involved 20 years ago in the Paine Field question. They should have decided zoning to increase the airport capacity 20 years ago. They've allowed residences to be built and I think it is a little late to decide to put a major airport or even a commercial airport at Paine Field. Over the years, the commissioners have agreed Paine Field would be a recreational airport and Boeing airport to try out planes. I think it should continue to be that way. It would do nothing but devalue the real estate south of the airport and north of the airport, and would not be anything good for Snohomish County.

Gerald Geschke, Edmonds

I support the Paine Field expansion. . . . The land, the airstrip, the traffic is all well laid out. I live two blocks from the main entrance to Paine Field. Looking to the future for my kids, I would like a good job base, continued growth, so they have a future in this area. Move the jobs to Snohomish County; who wants to drive to Seattle anyway? If you'd look at the real-estate market in the Paine Field area, most of the whiners move every three years anyway so they won't be around long enough to hear their echoes. For the view-home owners, I don't believe the air traffic will hurt the value. I mean the railroad cars and tracks don't, why would a couple of planes?

Kevin Aldrich, Everett

I live less than a mile from Paine Field. I am definitely against this. I moved here for some peace and quiet. We have turned down two or three times the question of bringing it in. I still have never figured out why no one ever mentions Boeing Field, which has been sitting down there for years, was our commercial airport.

Gordon Hoffman, Everett

No way could I support commercial airline flights to Paine Field.

Guy Spellman, Edmonds

We feel there is far too much residential development to allow the regularly scheduled airliners to use Paine Field. We purchased our property in this area with assurances from the Snohomish County government that they would honor their 1978 agreement. The expansion of Paine Field would cause intolerable noise, pollution and impact our state's largest employer, Boeing. It would also greatly diminish property values in this area.

James Eades, Edmonds

I oppose expanding Paine Field and bringing commercial airline flights there because our county made an agreement with us. In 1978, there was a mediated agreement which stated that they would not allow commercial air traffic at Paine Field. This agreement was even reaffirmed in 1988. When I bought my property, which is about three miles from Paine Field, I was assured that Paine would never be used as a commercial airport.

Lynn Eades, Edmonds

There's too much traffic here now and the area around Paine Field and Boeing is growing by leaps and bounds. I think the whole thing is a boondoggle.

Ed Hunrath, South Snohomish County

We are totally opposed to any commercial flights into Paine Field. We will protest or do whatever is needed to help stop it.

Jack Wells, Edmonds

I think it would be tremendous to have a airport in the North End due to the traffic going to Sea-Tac. I think many people would be in favor of this.

Margaret Carscadden, Snohomish

I oppose commercial flights at Paine Field. Those of us who are old enough to remember what happened when the Port of Seattle brought jet aircraft to Sea-Tac in the late '50s and early '60s realize the enormous cost involved in relocating, demolishing, moving, the homes, businesses in the Sea-Tac flight path. This cost, which was incurred by the Port of Seattle would be imposed on the citizens of Snohomish County. The large difference would be while the Port of Seattle spent several hundred million dollars on this, there would be the cost to Snohomish County in the billions.

Steve Eppley, Lynnwood

I say no to the expansion because of the noise it is going to cause, especially at our schools. There are many schools in the flight pattern that are going to be affected by the noise that it does cause.

Patsy Anderson, Edmonds

-------------------- NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION --------------------

Do you approve of police checkpoints as a method of combatting drunken driving?

The House Judiciary Committee this week approved a bill calling for police roadblocks to check for drunken drivers. A similar bill may be considered by the Senate's Law and Justice Committee.

While Snohomish County law enforcement officials generally support checkpoints, some groups, most notably the American Civil Liberties Union, complain such actions result in relatively few drunken-driving arrests. Opponents say the checkpoints infringe on civil rights and mainly inconvenience sober drivers.

However, proponents and law enforcement officials say this type of inconvenience is a small price to pay to get drunken drivers off the road.

What do you think?

Please phone your responses, by 8 p.m. Monday, to the Community Voices reader call-in line, 464-3337. Include your full name, your city and phone number (comments cannot be published without verification). Selected responses will be published in next Thursday's Snohomish Life.