The recently adopted 2007 King County Budget includes money for a Localizer Directional Aid approach noise impact study for the neighborhoods surrounding Boeing Field.

"I have been a long-time advocate of an Elliott Bay approach for planes using Boeing Field," said County Council Chairman Larry Phillips. "I have always said, however, that the solution to Boeing Field's noise impacts is not shifting noise from one neighborhood to another. This study will allow us to discover exactly where the noise impacts of an Localizer Directional Aid flight path would occur."

The County Council included $60,000 to finance the noise study. The money will allow the county to hire a nationally known, FAA-approved consultant to produce a noise map charting the noise impacts of an Localizer Directional Aid approach to Boeing Field.

"I hope this study will yield positive results for the noise impacts of Localizer Directional Aid," said Phillips. "If so, this may be a step toward ending the gridlock over changing Boeing Field flight paths and improving the quality of life for impacted neighborhoods."