Peninsula residents and community members concerned about the future of Lindbergh Field gathered during a grassroots summit Saturday to air concerns over airport safety, traffic and noise issues.
The meeting, which drew about three dozen participants, was held at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library.
The community forum was hosted by SanNoise, a grassroots watchdog organization dedicated to highlighting problems, issues and potential solutions on near-term and long-term expansion of the San Diego International Airport.
Led by Peninsula resident and Peninsula Community Planning Board Airport Committee chair Lance Murphy, the meeting covered traffic and potential safety hazards posed by the airport as more planes continue to use Lindbergh Field in the next five to ten years.
Murphy said improvements currently in the works would cause more problems than they would solve.
“I want them to mitigate [impacts] before they cause the problem, not after,” he said.
Murphy updated the community on the current phase of the plan to expand Lindbergh Field. The current plan includes an additional 10 gates at Terminal 2, a 5,000-car parking structure and an intermodal transit center, he said.
Saturday’s meeting came just a little over a week before the Monday, Feb. 4 deadline for public comments on the Airport Authority’s draft environmental impact report.
Comments fewer than 2,000 words can be submitted via e-mail to [email protected]. Comments longer than 2,000 words can be sent to San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, P.O. Box 82766, San Diego, 92138-2776.
Murphy said he needs help from the community if residents want the airport to either stop the expansion, to encourage the Airport Authority to look for other sites or better mitigate noise and traffic impacts.
“This is as much as I can do. I’m not a wizard,” Murphy said. “What I’m hoping is that this has instigated enough of you to say, ‘You know what? We can do something. We do need to do something.'”
Murphy’s presentation seemed to galvanize several Peninsula residents.
Michelle Frandsen said she came to the meeting because she’s concerned by the airport expansion and its effects on neighbors.
“We have to participate as a community,” she said. “I didn’t expect such a low turnout. I thought a lot of younger people would be there.”
Frandsen, who raised her family in Point Loma, said she was concerned that younger people who would be most affected by airport development in the future were not present. She said she could picture herself leaving because of the problems caused by the airport. She said she wants to be more involved and would ask her neighbors to become involved as well.
Tom Delahanty, a longtime Peninsula resident who also regularly attends PCPB meetings, said he wants to help organize groups to attend future Airport Authority meetings.
“I am concerned about the future of the airport. I’m concerned they’re not planning ahead and as a result we’ll find ourselves in a situation where there’s no alternative than to put in a second runway… as much as they don’t like it,” Delahanty said.
He said the Airport Authority has a responsibility to the San Diego community to “do the job right.”
Delahanty said if residents in the region don’t pay attention to airport development they will be stuck with a poorly designed airport in less than 10 years.
Murphy, along with several other residents, formed SanNoise about two years ago to bring attention to noise and traffic issues, he said.
The group reportedly has about 500 members who associate through the group’s Web site at www.sannoise.com. The group does not hold regularly scheduled meetings, but it accepts donations to fund its activities.