Letter: Creative thinking can solve flight path issue

Sunday, June 17, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

Regarding Barbara Langley's June 15 letter, "Flight path is for benefit of everyone":

Ms. Langley's ad hominem attack on the "children" of "the Republic of Summerlin" is based on the false premise of "either-or." Either it's the old way or it's the new way. There are alternatives, ones that can address the needs of all the stakeholders. We need to get past the petty name-calling and begin to think creatively.

No one can argue with the inevitable need to accommodate increased air traffic. No one but the most die-hard Republican with an "I've got mine, now you get yours" attitude can argue with the need to spread the growth pains to all who benefit from growth. Both the residents of the south and the north would benefit from a new flight path that took the majority of departing flights farther west before turning.

We here in Las Vegas cannot fight the political clout of the airline industry and the FAA. What we can do is pay for the privilege to live quietly. I, for one, would be willing to pay an "affected area tax surcharge" (by ZIP code? By county ward?) to subsidize the airlines' additional fuel costs.

If one does the math and evaluates the trade-off between the loss in home value created by the over flights and the cost of such a tax, I have to believe we come out way ahead. I know that I would not have purchased my home in Peccole Ranch in 2003 for the price I paid if the over flights were happening then.

At least we should have the right, as affected citizens, to vote on the issue. If it's voted down, so be it. However, if affected voters are properly educated as to the economic and lifestyle benefits of paying for the airlines to fly farther west, I believe we could make this happen.

David MacAlpine, Las Vegas