Tuesday, March 28, 2000
Two schools could get noise relief
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HEBRON — Schools in the far western Cincinnati community of Sayler Park could be eligible for improvements that would reduce jet noise from a new north-south runway planned at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
But the airport won't be able to determine if noise mitigation work is necessary at St. Aloysius and Sayler Park elementary schools until the proposed runway is built, said Barbara Schempf, the expert on noise for The Kenton County Airport Board.
“St. Aloysius in particular is an older school with no air conditioning, so the windows are open in warm weather,” Ms. Schempf said during the board's Monday night meeting.
“It's also almost directly across from where the end of the new runway would be built, so they'll probably be eligible for some noise mitigation,” she said.
The airport had a similar situation with Boone County High School in Florence, when increased air traffic from a new runway increased noise at the school in the early 1990s, she said.
“The board took a lot of steps to improve the situation at Boone County High School so we'll probably be looking at the same situation in Sayler Park,” Ms. Schempf said.
But the extent of the noise won't be known until the planned runway is built and handling jet traffic.
“We can't do anything until we know for sure how the runway will affect the school until we have planes actually using the runway,” Ms. Schempf said.
The airport board hopes the Federal Aviation Administration approves the runway next year. But it still could be three to five years before the runway is open.
Airport noise will be a topic of discussion when airport board members meet with members of Cincinnati City Council. In a March 13 motion introduced to council, Councilman Todd Portune asked that the airport board meet with council members to discuss plans to reduce noise over Cincinnati neighborhoods.
Board chairman Gary Bockelman said Monday that the board does plan to meet with council but a date has not been
set.
“We're trying to coordinate everybody's schedule who has to be there, but yes, we absolutely want to meet with (Cincinnati) council members to talk about noise mitigation efforts,” Mr. Bockelman said.
Noise mitigation of buildings and homes typically entails installing new doors, windows and attic insulation, Ms. Schempf said.
During Monday's meeting the board received a preliminary report on how much the noise mitigation plan for the new runway will cost.
According to Landrum & Brown, a Cincinnati aviation consulting firm, the plan will cost $22.6 million, said J. Suzanne Kleymeyer of Landrum & Brown.
Most of the money will go toward purchasing the estimated 50 Boone County homes that are in the path of the new runway.
But another 300 homes in Boone County will receive noise mitigation improvements under the plan.
Many of those homes are south and west of the airport in the Dartmouth Woods, Deerfield and Orchard Estates subdivisions.
The airport board would also buy a tract of undeveloped land west of the airport where up to 109 residential lots are now available. The land would be purchased so homes would not be built in the path of jet traffic generated by a planned extension of the airport's existing east-west runway.
By comparison, the noise mitigation plan for the north-south runway that opened in 1992 cost $110 million, including $70 million for purchasing homes and property.
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