Less than two months after the third small plane to crash in the Midway area in the last 10 months plowed into a homeowner`s backyard at 49th and Knox, we get the good news that the long-suspected and long-denied expansion of Midway Airport is underway, with the airport capacity to double with as many as 50 gates.
It is said by the local leaders, U.S. Rep. William Lipinski and Ald. William Krystiniak, that no new runways and no residential displacement is
”envisioned,” but neither was the currently announced expansion for new taxiways and new gates, except perhaps by Rep. Lipinski, who appears to have his own covert operation going here. Two years ago he persuaded the city to shift the site of the Midway station on the CTA`s Southwest rapid transit line a quarter-mile east to make the current expansion possible.
Legislation is floating around to help us pay for soundproofing our homes, but can we soundproof our backyards and sanity as 737s buzz our barbecues? Will we still have homes and backyards or are they targeted in future expansion plans? Will the next plane to plow into our backyards be a fully loaded jet trying to cope with our increasingly crowded Southwest Side skies?
We hear talk of the jobs expansion will provide, but what about the quality of life? Do we really want Midway to become another O`Hare?
Economic revitalization of the existing airport is one thing. The airport that was the world`s busiest when planes were slower, smaller and quieter can marginally handle some overflow from O`Hare and some modest commuter traffic. But the fact remains, Midway was not designed to be a modern jet airport, nor can it become one without major disruption of the community and a sufficient decline in the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods.
