with poll: Petition launches in opposition to Ann Arbor airport runway expansion

The petition is sponsored by the Committee for Preserving Community Quality, made up of residents from the city of Ann Arbor and Lodi and Pittsfield townships.

So far, 165 people have signed the petition, which reads:

"We, the undersigned, STRONGLY OBJECT to the proposal to lengthen the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport runway by 800 feet and move 150 feet from the east end of the runway to the west, making it 950 feet CLOSER to Lohr Road, because we believe this will make it significantly more DANGEROUS for the local residents of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Lodi.


"Because there are no planned studies to examine the safety of the surrounding population, and because the airport has an EXCELLENT SAFETY RECORD already, we STRONGLY URGE Ann Arbor City Council members to PROTECT the safety of their residents by REJECTING this proposal.

"We are concerned about the future financial impact of this project on us as local taxpayers, and STRONGLY URGE the City Council not to run the risk of WASTING valuable tax dollars on a project that will have LITTLE BENEFIT for the majority of us."

The city is in the process of having an environmental assessment study done to measure potential impacts of the proposed runway changes. No decision has been made yet and some council members admit they have mixed feelings about it.