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Mayor Opposes New Runway at Logan Airport

BOSTON-The final public hearing on the proposed new runway at Logan International Airport demonstrated community opposition to the plan. Mayor Thomas M. Menino made his case against the project, arguing that data in support of it is flawed.

By Naomi Grossman | Updated on April 26, 2001

BOSTON-At the final public hearing over a proposed new runway at Logan International Airport, Mayor Thomas M. Menino reportedly stated his opposition to the plan, even insisting he would place roadblocks on the strip with the help of Federal environmental justice regulations. The mayor claims that much of the data in The Logan Airside Improvement Planning Project,” the document on the proposed runway submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration and to the Massachusetts Office of Environmental affairs, is flawed.

He maintains that the runway violates the law because communities most affected by the runway have larger percentages of African-Americans and other people of color. A 1994 law instructs Federal agencies to address the issue of severe environmental impacts on minority or low-income communities. According to the 2000 census, over 50% of Boston residents are people of color. In East Boston that number goes up to 50.3%. Menino claims that Massachusetts Port Authority, which backs the runway with the Federal Aviation Administration, relies on the 1990 census for its figures.

“MassPort has not adequately addressed how the expansion plan will affect local streets in terms of air quality and traffic,” Toni Pollak, director of the environmental department at city hall, tells GlobeSt.com. “They’ve segmented this project. They don’t address the ground transportation impact.” Pollak also questions the methodology MassPort used in its testing. “We asked for back-up data and we never got it,” she says. “They did not look adequately into the health impact, traffic and quality of life issues.”

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