Tweed expansion: A bumpy ride
Plans for airport expansion and redevelopment face both legal and financial difficulties
The renovation of the Tweed-New Haven Airport is experiencing considerable turbulence.
At a public hearing before the Board of Aldermen’s Finance Committee on Wednesday evening, Tweed’s Executive Director Tim Larson told city legislators that although the airport has made progress on runway construction, legal objections from East Haven residents and limited funds are impeding further developments.
The irony here is that those who are opposed to Tweed's existence present the old singsong that it's being done for "the Yale community" when, judging by recent events, the reverse seems to be true. Earlier this year, several Yale students took the train to Manhattan and then the bus to the airport for a flight to New Orleans when they could have flown from Tweed to Philadelphia and connect with another flight. Furthermore, the airport is a constant target of Yale professor David Cameron in his New Haven Register editorials. Obviously, Profesor Cameron ignores the fact that the airport's attempts at self-sufficiency have been thwarted time and time again by the town of East Haven, hence the need for city subsidy. Yale Transit won't even run its buses out to Tweed, claiming the low passenger boardings don't justify it. I really think the university can be a force for change for the better vis-a-vis the airport's situation, starting with the student body and this paper. Interested Yale parties can contact thetweedring@yahoo.com.