Love Field Good Neighbor Program Update
The quarterly meeting hosted by the City of Dallas Department of Aviation took place in January but the projects that impact our neighborhoods are in full swing and will last throughout the year.
The Good Neighbor Program is a community engagemet commitment by Dallas Love Field to provide updates to nearby residents about airport operations, the local environment and progress on projects that affect surrounding neighborhoods. The Good Neighbor Program has joined efforts with the Love Field Environmental Advisory Committee to provide quarterly updates in a single venue. This is good for residents who want to address airport operational issues but also express environmental concerns. Now the Good Neighbor Program meetings will be managed by both airport entities. These meetings are a great time for residents to ask questions and express their concerns about noise, traffic and more.
The most recent meeting provided an update on air traffic in 2023 and current on-airport projects, including the crossfield and connecting taxiway construction and the replacement of the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Station. Of interest and benefit to users of Bachman Lake Park, the airport is also constructing a pedestrian/biking trail along the north side of Lemmon Avenue with the goal of connecting it to the Bachman Lake loop trail. Let's start with that one!
The sidewalk for the trail is taking shape from Shorecrest Drive to Lovers Lane. The next phase includes construction on Midway Manor Park and the trail near the car dealerships on Lemmon. Although the concrete on the completed portions has set, the trail remains closed until the project is complete, including new landscaping and art work. The estimated time of completion for the entire project, including landscape and street enhancements, will be summer of 2025.
Regarding air traffic, nearly 70 million enplanements and deplanements took place in 2023. This does not directly translate to number of passengers since a great deal of activity, particularly by Southwest Airlines, involves connecting passengers who deplane one aircraft to board another. Still, the passenger levels have now reached and even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. This is good news for the airport and local economy but at what cost does this come for residents who are concerned about an increase in noise and late-night activity? More on that later.
The taxiway improvements should result in more efficient aircraft movement as residents have been asking for a better split between the Denton Avenue-aligned and Lemmon Avenue-aligned runways. The way the main terminal is currently situated, the Lemmon Avenue side has seen a significant increase in traffic due to the terminal proximity as well as the boom in private aviation operators along that side of the airport.
Noise levels have been a concern and the Aviation Department gave an overview of the ongoing work between Love Field and key stakeholders, specifically local residents who surround the airport and who have made a series of proposals to help mitigate noise. While acknowledging that noise near an airport is inevitable, the big concerns focus around the increase in aircraft activity after nighttime hours which include hours when the voluntary noise program is supposed to be in effect (9:00pm - 6:00am).
The airport is currently revising the program using stakeholder input in order to create more accountability and to balance the traffic better among the two current runways. Some stakeholder recommendations include petitioning airlines to fly their quietest aircraft during evening hours, a review of takeoff and landing profiles and procedures to reduce noise, the inclusion of general aviation aircraft in the changes to the voluntary noise program, and a moratorium on scheduling flights to depart or arrive after 11:00pm. The City Council recently was briefed on these recommendations and the airport is moving forward with the steps it can implement that don't require approval or review from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The more complicated recommendations will require a funding mechanism and/or FAA approval.
The Love Field Citizens Action Committee, a group of residents near Love Field who also form part of the stakeholder group, has been reactivated. The group's website provides a thorough overview of the issues at hand with a multitude of references, past agreements and other pertinent materials. The site also links back to Love Field website information and the Casper Airport Solutions site which monitors aircraft activity at the airport and gives residents the opportunity to file noise complaints (see upper right of website menu).
Regarding environmental initiatives, the airport currently is one of three airports in Texas with a Level 3 carbon management status from the Airport Carbon Accreditation initiative and is seeking Level 4 status which has only been achieved by three U.S. airports. Love Field has also partnered with JetWind Power Corportation to trial revolutionary technology that captures and converts wind generated from an aircraft into sustainable clean energy. In short, an aircraft's jet exhaust could be used to charge equipment, including cars at the airport. For the time being, a small-scale Engery Capturing Pod is being tested near the control tower opposite Gate 9. Check out this September, 2023 report from CBS News Texas 11 on the project. https://tinyurl.com/bdes376f
More on the Good Neighbor Program, including past presentations can be accessed here.
Coming Tuesday, March 19: Dallas Love Field Master Plan Open House
Want a glimpse into the future? The City of Dallas Department of Aviation is conducting an "open house" to view the Dallas Love Field Master Plan. Here is their invitation:
Join the City of Dallas – Department of Aviation on Tuesday, March 19th, for an introduction to the Dallas Love Field Master Plan: Love What’s Next. In September 2023, Dallas Love Field (DAL) initiated a comprehensive airport study to meet growing demand and establish a flexible framework to guide future development.Join us as we progress through this comprehensive master plan study to identify short- medium- and long-term (20-year) development needed for future aviation demand. As a stakeholder, you play an integral role in this project, which will benefit greatly from your feedback. Dallas Love Field Master Plan Open House Tuesday, March 19, 2024 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. CST Frontiers of Flight Museum 6911 Lemmon Ave.Dallas, TX 75209 For more information, please visit DAL Love What's Next.
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