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MY advice to residents of Mountain View and Sunnyvale is to hang tough against commercial air traffic at Moffett Field.
I live about 10 miles from the San Jose airport, right on the border of the Cambrian and Willow Glen districts, and over the past 20 years, noise from the airport has slowly but steadily increased. On some nights, depending on weather conditions, I suppose, I am awakened over and over as straggler planes come in for landing between 11 and 11:30 p.m. While an 11 p.m. curfew sounds reasonable, it's really pretty late for people who need to or choose to get up early. In addition, I can set my watch in the mornings by the wall-shaking, window-rattling rumble that begins promptly at 7 a.m., seven days a week.
I am lucky -- at a 10-mile distance, airport noise is more of a nuisance than a serious disruption most of the time. I wonder what it must be like for people who live only 5 miles away or are directly under a flight path.
My point is that noise pollution continues to get worse, and I have no confidence that curfews and promises will contain it. Yes, we need airports and there are economic benefits to expanding air-freight commerce. But economic growth is nothing without quality of life, and in my opinion, noise pollution is already jeopardizing the quality of life for many people in San Jose and other parts of Santa Clara County.
I presume that the Mercury News also does not support popular referendums on other complex issues. After reading your editorial, I wondered if it was written in the United States.
I believe that the commercial use of Moffett Field is a matter which the local community should decide. Some of the benefits and much of the real costs of cargo jets flying into Moffett are local. This is why cities in democracies do not, can not, build commercial airports in established neighborhoods. The real costs are too high for any business to support without sweetheart deals and disregard of impact to existing communities.
NASA and local leaders are well aware that the interests of the community are the determining factor. If a meeting of minds produces alternatives with real net benefits, I for one will vote for it. But I should hope to be able to vote for it. I hope that the Mercury News will join us in supporting a democratic forum for any commercial use of Moffett Field.
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