Former pilot says the location of Tempe's proposed entertainment district raises safety concerns
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The legal battle over a proposal to build an entertainment district in Tempe that would contain housing and a hockey arena is centered around airplane noise.
The development arm of the Arizona Coyotes moved on Wednesday to intervene, claiming Phoenix’s attempt to stop the project could lead to billions of dollars in potential losses.
But safety also is a major concern for a member of the Tempe Aviation Commission.
Longtime Tempe resident W. David Doiron flew for the U.S. Air Force and served in Vietnam. Then he was an airline pilot, who also worked in air traffic control at Sky Harbor airport.
Doiron said the proposed Tempe Entertainment District would put a group of buildings on the centerline of Arizona’s busiest runway. Pilots taking off on the airport’s east side would have to quickly gain altitude. And when a jet is low to the ground, it’s hard to turn it away from something.
“I can see the conditions and I see the risk. I’m afraid the wheeler-dealers and the famous people that signed onto this thing, they don’t see the risk,” said Doiron.
Doiron also said that Tempe did not seek input from its own aviation panel.
“Well we’ve been pretty frustrated. The membership has expressed the question, ‘What are we here for? Why do we even exist? Why should I come to the meetings if we’re being ignored?”
Tempe did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Doiron’s concerns.
→ Guide to Tempe Props. 301, 302, 303: Coyotes hockey arena, entertainment district special election
