College Park residents protest airport expansion

“Inhuman” is how longtime College Park resident Coco Bright described living in the shadow of the world’s busiest airport.

Other residents complained of constantly being awakened by the thundering noise of low-flying jets and vibrations that rock their homes throughout each day and set off car alarms.

But the fed-up city residents have been told to brace for dramatically worse conditions if nearby Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport wins proposed changes to the runways and airplane departure flight paths. The changes could bring five times as many flights over the affected neighborhoods.

“It’s inhuman to live under the conditions we live in,” said Bright, a city resident for more than 30 years, during this week’s informational meeting led by College Park city councilman Ambrose Clay. “I can’t live there.”

Bright was among the more than 100 or so city residents who complained about the proposed changes.

At issue is the joint proposal by the airport and the Federal Aviation Administration that would extend runway 27R by 500 feet to 12,390 feet, so that it could accommodate heavier — and louder — international-bound aircraft. The plan also calls for new flight vectors that would send more than five times the current flight traffic over College Park’s Ward 4, where Bright lives.

Currently, 26 flights per day fly over the heavily populated area, but that number would balloon to 156 daily should the plan be approved.

A formal public hearing will be held on Feb. 25, with final comments due by March 13.

Runway 27R was chosen because it’s already the airport’s longest and therefore would be the cheapest to extend.

City officials hoping for relief have tentatively scheduled a Monday meeting with state and federal legislators.

But angry residents say the noise is bad enough, and they can’t stomach the idea of things possibly getting any worse.

“It’s really affected our quality of life,” said Angela Slaughter, another Ward 4 resident.

Atlanta officials say the extended runway and new flight paths would alleviate runway delays and pollution.

They attributed the growing volume of international-bound planes coming through Hartsfield-Jackson as the reason for the changes.

“The city of Atlanta and other regional leaders have determined that the Atlanta metropolitan airport must continue to maximize its economic competitiveness with other U.S. cities and regions,” wrote Dr. Thomas Nissalke, the city of Atlanta’s Director of Environmental and Technical Services, in Draft Environmental Assessment for the project.

“Part of maximizing the Atlanta area’s competitiveness is to provide appropriate aviation infrastructure.”

But not at their expense, College Park residents argue.

“When I’m watching TV, I have to sit with the remote control in my hand,” said Ward 4 resident Gloria Wood, “to increase the volume when the plane is coming down and the house is shaking and turn it back down after it’s passed over.”