CORONADO, Calif. (KGTV) — You may start seeing aircraft carriers staying in San Diego Bay for longer periods of time, but first, the Navy wants to know what residents have to say about it.
Naval Air Station North Island is home to the USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Carl Vinson.
The navy wants to hear from the Coronado community and surrounding areas because the ships are ported in the community they call home.
We see the aircraft carriers that are homeported at Naval Base North Island on our scenic drives around town.
For the first time in 15 years, the Navy will be studying the impacts the ships have on the community and things have changed since then.
"There have been changes to maintenance cycles, operational cycles, and training cycles. So what we're looking at is how we can best support three carriers at naval air station north island and the potential for an increase in period of three carriers simultaneously in port together," said
The Navy has analyzed the impacts of when all three carriers are ported for 29 days but is now looking at up to 180 days.
A scenario it thinks is highly unlikely.
"One of the areas that we know we are going to be looking at is what are the impacts to traffic for having three carriers simultaneously in port for potentially a longer period of time," said Ted Brown, U.S. Fleet Forces.
Other areas the Navy plans to look at are air quality and the environment.
But, the Navy wants feedback from the Coronado community and surrounding areas about what they think should be looking at too.
"They live here. The impacts are to them," he said.
There is a meeting tonight at the Coronado community center from 5-7:30 p.m. and another tomorrow at Imperial Beach.
If you cannot make it, you can also fill out a public comment form online.
The findings of the study won't be released until the summer of 2024.
