wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I second Charles Holmes suggestion. Improve rail service and please stop talking about increased flight frequency. We have enough planes in the sky. We're supposed to be working towards less congestion, less carbon emissions, etc. Please cover this topic again so that we can get more planet-friendly solutions to this problem.

Air traffic is a major problem in all cities and the FAA must do more to regulate both incoming and outgoing flights especially during the peak seasons. In NYC, they do change the route frequently to allow different neighborhoods to take the brunt of the noise from JFK and LaGuardia, but the real issue is traffic congestion not noise.

Developing an extensive system of long distance, intercity, and local passenger rail service, as existed in the USA during the 1920s-1948 would REDUCE demand for airline passenger service and therefore REDUCE the number of flights, demand for more runways and airports, INCREASE air safety and ground safety, and REDUCE use of carbon/fossil jet fuel. Were the passenger rail system of the USA publicly financed to the RELATIVE degrees of those in France and Germany, the problems of flight delays, near misses, flight patters, etc., would not exist.

comment on JFK congestion...(there is no place designated place to comment on this)

answer is larger planes - fewer flights. too many commuter jets clogging skies. it is not uncommon in japan, for example, to use 747s for the 1 hour flight between osaka and tokyo.