Since I have decided to move to Florida, I know that my opinion does not matter as much as it did before, but I want to go on record to everyone about my support for repeal of the Wright Amendment.  You may already know how it could reduce the price of flights out of Dallas to other cities, but what are the other advantages of repealing this amendment?

As a child, I remember a perfect Bachman Lake where you would see people roller skating, playing Frisbee, and just having a good old picnic.  Sure, the sound of Southwest Airlines aircraft passed over, but it was never a big deal because the surroundings were just perfect.  Since those wonder years of my childhood, Bachman Lake has had a steady decline.  We have had to kick out prostitution, sexual oriented businesses, drugs, and other crime related activities.  Unfortunately, for every time we kick one bad thing out another comes up stronger.  Now we have to deal with things like illegal spa houses and improper certificates of occupancy for businesses.  Why do I bring this up?  It all started about the time the Wright Amendment was passed in 1979. 

We have an airport with huge potential to be great, but Love Field has its hands tied. 

Sure, I think the success of DFW airport was contingent on restrictions on Love Field, but DFW is now one of the largest airports in the nation.  At the time DFW was built, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Arlington and Irving were much smaller and needed support.  They are now thriving cities that can survive on their own.  Those cities can support themselves enough to lure the largest Hotel in the south (Gaylord Hotel) to Grapevine, our beloved Cowboys to Arlington, and one of the best raceways in America (Texas Motor Speedway) to Fort Worth.  For them to become such a success, the Wright Amendment had to ?Rob Peter to pay Paul,? and we have boosted other cities development long enough.  Getting rid of the Wright Amendment will not affect DFW Airport, American Airlines, or the surrounding areas one bit because they can support themselves now.  It is time to start taking care of our own city that we love so much, Dallas.

With the repeal of the Wright Amendment, we can boost ourselves forward to becoming a thriving community again.  Developers will come in and take advantage of undervalued properties around Love Field Airport and change them into a community we can be proud of and enjoy.  New Hotels, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants will pop up everywhere.  Neighbors of Love Field Airport will not have to travel to downtown, Addison, or other cities to enjoy their leisure time; they will be able to enjoy it in their own back yard.  With the new development, our property value will sky rocket and we will become the place to live again like we were before 1979.  With higher property value crime reduces, sexual oriented business (Massage Parlors) will reduce, and sketchy businesses will be replaced with better ones.  

I urge neighbors and businesses of Northwest Dallas to educate yourself on what could happen if the Wright Amendment is repealed.  Other community leaders argue the noise will be too much.  With new aircraft by Southwest and other carriers, the noise is highly reduced.  How do we prove it?  Go to Bachman Lake Park on the south side and listen for yourself.  You will soon realize the new aircraft (Blue Paint Scheme) are significantly quieter than the old ones (Brown Paint Scheme).  Any aircraft brought into service to increase flights out of Love Field will be the new aircraft and replace the old ones. 

In the long run, the noise will reduce even though there is more air traffic.

Some of the best property to own in the DFW area right now is in the direct path of DFW airport airstrips.  Those neighbors don?t complain about the noise, because they get the advantage of great amenities and lifestyle.  The locations with the most noise are filled up with multi-million dollar hotels, shopping malls and upscale golf courses.  I would not mind seeing some of that move into NW Dallas.

In summary, ?Wright is WRONG? for our neighborhoods, ?Wright is WRONG? for Northwest Dallas, ?Wright is WRONG? for Dallas, and ?Wright is WRONG? for the US.  Join with me to fix the mistake that we allowed to happen to us in 1979 and start building up a great Northwest Dallas Community again.

Matthew S. Murphy