It’s difficult not to see the growth around Dallas Love Field. The City of Dallas is making plans to keep up with the trend. Some neighbors have said they want a say in what happens.
At any given time along Northwest Highway near Bachman Lake, airplanes are seen landing and taking off. As the population grows in the area and throughout Dallas, city leaders say the airport must evolve with it.
“Dallas Love Field is very constrained. And as you grow and as you develop, you want to look at making sure you’re maximizing the use of your facility,” said Patrick Carreno, director of aviation for the City of Dallas.
Tuesday evening’s public open house at the Frontiers of Flight Museum is where Carreno said neighbors and other stakeholders could track progress for the airport’s Master Plan, which consists of development proposals to address the population surge and future aviation demands over the next 20 years.
This was the fourth public open house held, focusing on evaluating a shortlist of development plans and presentations. The third open house was held in December 2024.
Part 139 airports — certified by the Federal Aviation Administration — are told to complete master plans every seven to ten years.
“We look at a forecast and we look at the numbers and say this is how many passengers we think we’re going to have, this is how many operations we think we’re going to have,” Carreno said.
Dorie Cranshaw lives in the Briarwood neighborhood and attended the open house Tuesday night with her friend Mimi Perez. Both women have kept a close watch on the master plan.
“The airport needs updating. I accept that, I encourage it. I just want to be sure it’s done in the most thoughtful manner possible,” said Cranshaw.
Perez is a 30-year resident of the historically Black Elm Thicket neighborhood, just east of Love Field. She told NBC 5 that her neighborhood and the airport have a complicated history — one she doesn’t want to see repeat itself.
“When Love Field expanded in the ‘50s, it took half of my neighborhood,” said Perez. “So, for us it’s a lot more personal, more emotional. Quality of life, noise, and you stay within your boundaries, that’s a big issue for us.”
Even with the repeal of the Wright Amendment in 2014, which opened flight options from the airport, Dallas Love Field is still capped on the number of gates allowed and limited in infrastructure growth.
Carreno said this plan is about maximizing the facility.
“So that we’re ready when we get to the end of this in 2045, the next planning horizon, that the airport is set up to continue to evolve and adapt to what the conditions are,” he said.
Carreno said stakeholders include people who work at the airport, business partners, nearby residents, and travelers who use the facility.
“We can’t always make everybody exactly what they want, but, you know, it’s kind of balancing those partners and making sure that we’re not missing anything critical for one of them,” he said.
Concrete plans are expected by the end of this year, with the inclusion of the Federal Aviation Administration approval process. Over the next five to seven years, significant changes at Dallas Love Field are expected.
For more information, visit www.dallovewhatsnext.com.
Great Job Candace Sweat & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth Source link for sharing this story.
