East Palo Alto residents say they are worried and frustrated over proposals to expand and remodel the city’s airport.
On Monday night, more than 70 speakers lined up to talk in front of the Palo Alto City Council regarding proposals to expand the Palo Alto airport.
The director of public works and the airport managers outlined what they call alternatives, essentially options to expand the airport. The city said it’s meant to accommodate existing aircraft and electric aircraft in the future.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been enough outreach from palo alto to east palo alto residents which i find completely disrespectful,” said East Palo Alto resident Lesly López.
The Palo Alto Airport is located on Embarcadero Road.
Residents in East Palo Alto said they can see and hear the planes coming in and out. They added that they’re concerned about the noise, the baylands and pollution.
“Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot of climate hazards, we already have terrible air quality,” López said.
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Residents also pointed to a plane in 2010 that left the Palo Alto Airport and crashed In East Palo Alto. The three people on board died, and the plane struck power lines and damaged homes.
“I live very close to the airport, I’ve seen multiple plane crashes, including one in 2010 that killed 3 people,” said East Palo Alto resident Mark Dinan. “Ehen a plane crashes, it’s either going to go into the Palo Alto marsh or into the East Palo Alto neighborhoods, so it’s extremely important that east palo alto is consulted.”
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City council is not yet voting on the plans and the plan is to choose a preferred alternative of the options they outlined.
