Let’s invest in meat-and-potato projects
As airport officials come to terms with the disastrous power failure recently, do any of them think that, in lieu of spending over $350 million on an “architecturally beautiful” pair of canopies at the terminals, that some of that money could have been better spent on meat-and-potato projects? As in most of America, updating and improving our basic and critically important, unseen infrastructure takes a back seat in all our planning. As we’ve seen, these decisions have an adverse impact on us today. This type of occurrence may sadly become the “new normal” in the future if we ignore the poor condition of important infrastructure in our country.
ENIO GUERRA, ATLANTA
Blackout needed better communication
During the blackout at the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta, Mayor Kasim Reed took a calculated risk in withholding for hours any communication to those impacted until he concluded an ability to provide accurate information.
Though an admirable intent, that decision was of no benefit to the thousands of passengers trapped in planes on the tarmac, stranded on terminals, and presumably stuck inside airport rail shuttles.
A complete overview isn’t imperative instantly in such situations. It would have been more helpful for customers to know promptly that the right people were aware, the problem was being aggressively addressed, that it may take a while, and suggestions in the meantime on what they could do for some level of safety and comfort.
When a “monster” attacks the city, it isn’t critical to provide expeditious knowledge on whether it’s Godzilla or Mothra and where it came from. The immediate communication priority is that the military is fighting back and civilian safety instructions on avoiding the beast’s danger.
ALAN FOSTER, ACWORTH
About the Author
