Protecting North Texas Naturally
Preserving wildlife and landscapes for future generations
Our Green Initiative
Future-Proofing North Texas Air Travel
The best environmental choice for future regional passenger service in North Texas is the North Texas Regional Airport (NTRA) in Grayson County, not at McKinney National Airport.
Passenger service at either of these airports will bring additional aircraft operations and increased vehicle traffic. NTRA is better suited to handle the associated environmental impacts.
· Air Pollution
McKinney National is located in the DFW ozone non-attainment zone. NTRA is not. Additional pollution from aircraft and vehicular traffic at McKinney National will add to ozone issues in the DFW ozone non-attainment zone. Additional pollution at NTRA will not contribute to DFW ozone non-attainment.
· Wildlife Sanctuaries
The Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary property line is 1.25 miles Southwest of the South end McKinney National’s runway. The Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge property line is 2.8 miles West Northwest of the North end of NTRA’s runway. With the differences in distance, the impact of passenger service on Hagerman’s endangered and protected species will be significantly less than the impact on the endangered and protected species at the Heard.
· Nearby Residents
Noise and air pollution from McKinney National’s passenger service will impact McKinney East-side residential neighborhoods (0.75 miles to Woodside Village Apartments and 1.2 miles to Webb Elementary School) and residents in Fairview (1.2 miles to Red Oak Trail) and New Hope (1.25 miles to Fisher Road). NTRA’s closest residential neighborhoods are in Pottsboro (2.0 miles North of the runway) and residences on Berkshire Lane in Sherman (2.9 miles Southeast of the runway).
McKinney National has no protective zoning in the approaches to its runway. As a result, there are residences in Fairview (1.2 miles from its runway) and dense residential developments, such as Heritage Ranch (1.6 miles from the runway) in the South approach to McKinney National.
There are no dense residential areas currently in the approaches to NTRA. Plus, Grayson County has established Land Use and Compatibility Zoning for the approaches to NTRA to limit densities of properties in the approach zones. This zoning prevents high density residential developments thereby ensuring future high-density developments will not be located in the airport approaches to be impacted by low flying aircraft.
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North Texas Conservation Association
3001 S. Hardin Blvd, Ste 110-330, McKinney, TX 75070
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