Residents in the New Haven area have rallied against the expansion of the city’s Tweed Regional Airport, but officials are still moving ahead with plans.
The airport wants to start renovating terminals and adding hundreds of parking spaces to allow for more passengers.
One complaint at a public meeting this week came from East Haven resident David Girsh.
“How is East Haven going to handle 500,000 to 750,000 passengers a year with the roads that are in place? I don’t see how it can work. The roads just can’t handle it in our town,” Girsh said.
Residents said the plan would add noise and interfere with migratory bird routes.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said city planners knew about some residents’ objections.
“Our team heard the consistent complaints and concerns about traffic, about noise, about the fact that the city subsidizes this airport and has done so for decades and decades. Our team worked very hard to get to a deal we significantly believe benefits everyone,” Elicker said.
A city planning board approved the plan this week. It has yet to consider a longer-term plan that would also add a new terminal and extend the airport’s runway.
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