Commercial air service meets needs

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Commercial air service at Paine Field will provide important benefits for Snohomish County citizens and businesses. Although a few localized groups oppose commercial air service, their vision is short-sighted and focused on their personal interests, not on the overall benefit for Snohomish County as a whole. We need to encourage and support local government leadership that recognizes the value and importance of this service.

Noise is no longer a significant factor with Stage III aircraft. Traffic patterns and operating procedures further reduce ground noise levels. Today, most noise is contained within the airport boundaries. The increased number of flights would not even reach the daily flight level when Boeing was producing 600 planes a year.

Commercial air service would create a new industry with positive job impacts. Air service in the county would help many businesses remain economically viable and allow for expansion and growth. It would also help attract new business.

Traffic is congested on I-5 and will increase. This includes traffic to and from SeaTac. Paine Field’s market area for commercial air service is more than 1.1 million and growing. Doesn’t it make sense to direct some of the traffic to Paine Field where adequate infrastructure exists to take traffic from I-5 and relieve some pressure on King and South Snohomish counties? Residents deserve better air transportation options than what exists today. Commercial air operations at Paine Field would be a small percentage of SeaTac flights.

An elected official opposing air service recently said he is a “big believer in the quality of life that we currently enjoy.” He fails to understand that quality of life issues extend to all of county residents in employment, transportation and travel opportunities. Quality of life also begins with having a job.

I believe most county residents would like an option to have commercial air service that offers better predictability and convenience getting to SeaTac.

Snohomish County needs to move into the 21st Century. County citizens and businesses will benefit from forward thinking and timely results.

HANK ROBINETT

Snohomish