What makes Marion County amazing isn't noise pollution from a commercial airport
My family has resided in Marion county for three generations. I have been watching with great interest the discussion about the commercializing of the Ocala Airport. I have heard a lot of people say they are in favor of this because of convenience, however I have not really heard many discussing the harsh realities of the downside that some have unfortunately experienced.
My family owns a home in Cedarhurst, Long Island. The house is in the direct flight path of a well known commercial airport, JFK. While I was living in New York, I actually stayed in that house for approximately one year due to being injured while working in law enforcement, and in the past seven months I have had to stay at the house again quite frequently due to a family members declining health.
I bring this up because I have been harshly reminded of what an absolute nightmare it is to live anywhere around the flight path of an airport that is commercial. It is incredibly noisy. During the day, night, morning, evening, interrupted conversations, barbecues, sleep, etc. People try to avoid having special events in their yards. In New York, weather is cooler and more things are indoors but the noise is still outrageous.
I bring this up because in Marion County we can do more things outside. The noise will be even louder and with the humidity the sound will travel further.
I have also heard the argument that the airports have noise ordinances and flight traffic is stopped during nighttime hours. This is completely incorrect. Anyone who thinks this can easily Google the hours of flight operations at airports and see that there are zero restrictions on the hours that flights can takeoff and land. I have many videos of flights rattling the house during all hours of the night, every 35-60 seconds.
For those that think you must be located near the runway of an airport to be disturbed by the noise, that is not correct. The house I am speaking of is 6 miles from the airport and even the small jets will rattle your brain. The 747s and 767s are absolutely unbearable. The houses around here all sustain damage due to vibrations from the noise. That’s right, 6 miles away, the houses have cracks that appear in the walls, the concrete, etc. Old, new, it does not matter.
Please keep in mind “commercial” also does not simply mean passenger. Think Amazon, Chewey, FedEx, UPS, flights to WEC and any other commercial businesses that want to fly their goods into and out of the millions of square feet of commercial space they are attempting to construct even as I am typing this, including inside of the Farmland Preservation Area.
In summarizing, please think long and hard on both sides of this issue. We can appeal to people and businesses without inconveniencing people and losing the things that make Marion County incredible. It is not as cut and dry as simply having the convenience of the Allegiance flight you think you may be getting. I do understand wanting convenience, growth and business. However, there is a proper balance that needs to be maintained.
Shortening your ride to the airport to forty minutes by creating traffic and incredible noise pollution for over 100,000 of your neighbors does not seem like a good idea.
We were growing in a responsible, planned way. We are the horse capitol of the world. If we get back to protecting the things that make Marion County special and plan properly with smart growth, we can really be amazing. Or we can lose our way and simply be another huge city.
Michael J. Saxe has been a Marion County resident since 2005.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Commercial service to Marion County's airport would disrupt lifestyle
