BOSTON — A plan to extend a safety area of Runway 27 at Logan Airport has some Boston neighborhoods asking questions about the potential future impact.
Neighbors in parts of the South End, South Boston and Roxbury have complained in recent years about an increase in frequent early and mid-morning departures soaring overhead.
Those flights are routinely coming from Runway 27.
The airplanes often fly over Washington Street in the South End before making their turn over Dorchester to head west or south.
“It’s been noticeable since they changed the patterns,” said South End resident Mike Nelson. “Sometimes we play a game where we bet what carrier is going to be the next one that comes overhead.”
Some have raised eyebrows over a change proposed by Massport for a 450-foot safety extension of Runway 27 into Boston Harbor.
Neighbors attended a virtual meeting held by Massport on Wednesday night in hopes of getting more answers.
“I did have some concerns about how the meeting was run and the opportunity for sort of public input,” said Aaron Toffler, Executive Director of Massport Community Advisory Committee.
Those who signed into the meeting could type questions at one point but did not have a chance to speak or have back and forth dialogue with Massport officials.
“It’d be a great to do these public meetings at a time when the answers are available to the public,” said Toffler.
Massport said construction on the safety extension wouldn’t get started until 2025 and that will be opportunities for public input down the line.
“The Logan Runway 27 Runway Safety Area (RSA) Enhancements Project will increase safety for aircraft and their passengers in emergency situations by enhancing the Runway 27 end safety area consistent with FAA requirements,” said a statement from Massport.
According to Massport, the proposed improvements are part of a continuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety program.
“RSAs are safety improvements and do not extend runways or have any effect on normal runway operations, runway capacity, or types of aircraft using the runway,” explained Massport.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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