Boycott the Dane County Airport and show support for a healthy and sustainable Madison. | |
Here are a few
reasons why you should boycott the airport: You love Madison
-- The county airport is anti-Madison. It makes our city
an unhealthy place to live, promotes sprawl, contributes
to global warming, and creates poverty. You support
healthy neighborhoods - Noise from airplanes
both in the air and on the ground makes Madison an
unhealthy and unpleasant place to live. For miles around
noise interrupts conversations, rattles windows, and
interferes with the lives of thousands of Madison
residents. See Noise
Pollution Takes Toll on Health and Happiness You think
polluters should clean up their mess -- The
airport is an irresponsible polluter. According
to the FAA, the airport’s noise control plan was
last updated in 1996. Despite an unlimited budget, the
airport has failed to update its plan to modern
standards like other airports and has violated FAA
regulations which require a new plan to address
increased noise levels. The airport continues to violate
its outdated noise control plan. While claiming it
controls noise by sending flights to the north of the
city and away from populated areas of Madison, the
airport continues to send over
50,000 planes each year over the heads and ears of
city residents. You support Smart
Growth and oppose sprawl -- The Comprehensive
Plan for the City of Madison must accommodate the
airport by removing over 7,000 acres or 11 square miles
from residential development in the city. This creates
an inhabitable “Airport
Ghetto”. This land is large enough to contain the
cities of Monona, Stoughton and Verona with combined
populations of over 27,000 people. Noise from the
airport further discourages people from living in the
surrounding neighborhoods on the east and north sides of
Madison. Other airports like Austin and Denver have
relocated their airports outside the city and
redeveloped the old airport sites into smart growth
showplaces. You want to help
stop global warming -- Travel by airplane is
the most energy consuming form of travel. Why throw away
your efforts to live green and sustainable by a
gas-guzzling airplane ride? Short flights to nearby hubs
like Milwaukee and Chicago consume more fuel and
generate more emissions than any other form of travel.
It is like every passenger is each driving the largest
Hummer SUV. A family of four could drive their more
fuel-efficient Toyota Prius to the Milwaukee airport
over 20 times before consuming the fuel from a
connecting flight. You want an honest
and responsive government -- The airport is
represents government at its worst. With an unlimited
and independent budget controlled by an unaccountable
commission, the airport never suffers budget cuts and
has no incentive to respect the health of well-being of
Madison residents. You believe in environmental justice
-- It's not surprising that the city's Neighborhood
Indicators website shows that neighborhoods
surrounding the airport have become some of the poorest
in Madison with the highest rates of government
assistance, lowest property values and highest home
foreclosure rates. Poor residents are an easy target for
the airport since they are unable to defend themselves. You support a
clean environment and agree with Woodsy Owl
-- Who says “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute”. |
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Madison has an opportunity to
create affordable homes. |
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Madison and Dane County
are making plans for the future. Plans for making
Madison a better place to live. Plans to reduce suburban
sprawl. But something is missing. The city's Comprehensive
Plan removes thousands of acres in Madison from
future residential growth where no one is allowed to
live. This area could provide affordable homes to 40,000
more city residents who would inject their vitality into
our community. Why is this area considered uninhabitable? The Dane County Regional Airport. It has created an area unsuitable for people to live. Instead of the benefits of additional city residents, Madison gets an airport ghetto. While surrounding communities grow, the county airport stops residential growth in Madison. The picture at right shows Madison's airport ghetto. Click on the image to see the full extent of this area. It doesn't need to be this way. Madison and Dane County can follow the lead of other cities like Austin, Texas, by relocating the county airport outside the city and replacing it with a lively, urban area - a Smart Growth showplace. Joel Hirschhorn, author of "Sprawl Kills - How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money," and former UW professor and Madison resident, says: "The concept of carefully examining relocating the Dane County airport to free up considerable land for close-in development that would reduce sprawl around Madison is a fine illustration of "smart growth" thinking. City and county officials should be encouraged by thoughtful citizens and business leaders to pursue analysis of this option." |
Madison's Airport
Ghetto |
What
have other communities done? |
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Austin,
Texas relocated their city airport and
the former Peter Mueller Municipal Airport has been
redeveloped into a "new mixed-use urban
village in the heart of Austin. Mueller is a model for
responsible planning and sustainability. In every way,
Mueller breaks the mold and offers a variety of homes,
shops, services, schools and places to work and play
in a setting that's vibrant, pleasing and downright
friendly."
By mid-2007, the project's developer will build 4,600 homes, including single-family and multifamily units, half for owners and half for renters, priced at $130,000 to $550,000. Learn more by visiting the web site: www.muelleraustin.com/ Click on the image to the right and see Austin's plan for development of the former Mueller airport site. |
Austin's
Urban Village |
Denver, Colorado relocated their city
airport and redeveloped the 4,700 acre Stapleton
International Airport site into "the
nation’s largest urban development, is an urban tapestry
of homes, shops, offices, parks, and schools in a
walkable community of classic city architecture." According to the Sierra Club, the conversion of Stapleton is a model of smart growth development. Only 10 minutes from downtown Denver, the mixed-use project will add 12,000 housing units, including detached houses, town houses and lofts by 2020. Read the Sierra Club comments on the redevelopment of Stapleton, or visit the web site: www.stapletondenver.com Click on the image to the right and see Denver's plan for redevelopment of the former Stapleton airport site. |
Denver's
Walkable Community |
Other examples of airport redevelopment into residential housing include the Vancouver, Washington; San Bernardino, California; and Burlington, Connecticut. Read about these projects in the March 12, 2006 article in the New York Times -- End of the Runway: New Homes Are Rising. |
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How
would you redevelop the county airport site in
Madison? |
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Here is a sampling of
redevelopment ideas from elsewhere in the country:
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What's at stake by leaving the county airport in Madison? | |
The
county airport is an economic burden to Madison
residents.
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The
county airport is an environmental burden to Madison
residents.
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Watch "Planes over Madison" on YouTube |
What
do readers have to say? |
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"I find myself agreeing
with your entire argument."
"I wish that instead of investing a pile of money in the new facility Dane Co. would have relocated the airport ten or twenty years ago. Please send me a bumper sticker or two and some more to share." "Is there any greater symbol of our failure to control sprawl in Dane County than the continued presence of the county airport within Madison?" (Wisconsin State Journal, August 19, 2007) "You're absolutely correct! Madison needs more affordable housing, not an airport ghetto." "Children who live close to busy highways or airport flight paths often have higher stress hormones and lower reading test scores." (Capital Times, February 13, 2007) "Yes, it is time to stop wasting the city's eastside while the rest of the county grows." "Madison's airport development will never be considered an example of the solution that will rescue its only real treasure, the lakes and its drinking water supply." (Capital Times, November 21, 2006) "I never realized how much Madison residents sacrifice to support the county airport." "How noisy is our town? Just come to the east side and stand beneath incoming airplanes with your noise monitor. The house vibrates and conversations come to a halt." (Capital Times, February 24, 2007) "What a shining example of Smart Growth we could provide by replacing the airport ghetto with homes and neighborhoods." "Where are the "Smart Growth" leaders?" "Such a pro-Madison idea. The sounds of people would be far better than the noise of airplanes." |
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Frequently
asked questions? |
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How would we pay
for relocation of the county airport?
The Austin and Denver airports were relocated using airport revenue bonds at no cost to taxpayers. The cost of relocation can also be offset by the difference in land values between the current and new location, airport revenues and federal support. It is no secret that while the rest of county government struggles with tight budgets, the county airport has had unlimited funds for new construction projects. Where should the airport be moved? A thorough review of possible sites is needed. One potential location is northeast of Sun Praire along Highway 151. Wouldn't relocating the airport create more sprawl than leaving it in Madison? While a relocated airport will consume county land, this will be far less than the land and resources consumed by those 40,000 or more residents that will live and commute from sprawling subdivisions outside the city. Growth at the new airport location can be limited by using the airport's and county's control over zoning. Currently the airport's control over zoning is ironically used to stop residential growth within Madison, where it is needed the most. |
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Show
your support and request a bumper sticker. |
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Send your name and
address to: bumper_sticker@[remove this
space]nomadisonairport.org
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What
next? |
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Let your city and county
representatives know its time to start planning a
better future for Madison and Dane County. We need a
study of the costs and benefits of relocating the
county airport out of Madison.
Write County Executive Joe Parisi and let him know he is ignoring the environmental and economic impacts of the county airport. By keeping the county airport in the city, he has become the champion of Dane County sprawl. Write Mayor Paul Soglin and tell him the city Comprehensive Plan is out of balance and needs to more aggressively create housing, especially affordable housing, within Madison. This plan forgot to evaluate the impacts of keeping the county airport in Madison. We need homes, not an airport ghetto. It's time for him to fight for Madison and its residents. Email us with your thoughts and ideas at: info@[remove this space]nomadisonairport.org |