Logan parking plans don’t fly
Eastie neighbors speak out
East Boston residents are firing back at a plan to add 5,000 parking spots to Logan International Airport, saying Massport’s claims that the spaces will reduce pollution are overblown and that union workers looking for jobs shouldn’t take priority over their community’s health.
“I think the union is very much aware of things like this, they always come out to a lot of community meetings but it’s always to someone else’s benefit and it’s an adverse impact on the community when they do it,” said East Boston resident Patricia D’Amore, a member of local watchdog group AIR INC., during a community meeting last night.
“I feel for these guys, they’re supporting their families and need jobs,” she added, “but in three years they’re going to be gone and we’re stuck with it for the rest of eternity.”
D’Amore and other residents — along with nearly 100 union workers — were on hand for the meeting, where Massport officials detailed their plan to add 5,000 parking spaces at two existing parking sites, the Terminal E surface lot and the Economy parking garage. Under a 1975 law intended to reduce pollution, Logan operates under a parking freeze and additional spots can only be added with the approval of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
That freeze was amended in 1989 to add 9,000 spots — the airport currently has 21,088 spaces — and Massport officials say increased use of the airport has triggered the same kind of air quality problems they faced in 1989. The lack of parking spaces, they said, encourages passengers to take cars and taxis to dropoff areas, which contributes to air pollution caused by vehicles driving through instead of parking.
Union members who spoke in favor of the garages said they could add 2,782 full-time jobs.
Richard Curran, an executive board member of Laborers Local 22, said the jobs would offer two years of security to members and that residents knew the airport was in their backyards.
“The people who live here, I feel bad for them, but they bought their house knowing there’s an airport,” Curran said. “That’s what we do, we look out for our interests. We’ll be out here again.”
But Jeffries Point resident Jay Benson said her family had been living in their home since the 19th century and blasted Massport for attempting to change the freeze, saying it would only add more spaces while people continued to make drop-offs. The effort to add more parking spaces runs counter to what city officials have been preaching about public transit, she said.
“The city of Boston is telling everyone in East Boston that when they build new buildings, they don’t need to put in parking because nobody is using cars anymore — well, if that’s the case, then Massport doesn’t need new parking spaces either,” Benson said. “You should talk to the city of Boston, maybe you should all get together and have the same ideas.”