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July 16, 2021

Tweed expansion raises traffic concerns in Morris Cove 

RENDERING | Courtesy Tweed
By Liese Klein

Traffic calming measures and increased enforcement play key roles in a plan by Tweed New Haven Airport to deal with higher volumes under a new expansion deal,  airport officials said at a public hearing Thursday.

“We want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can from a traffic safety and calming perspective in the neighborhood in order to be the best neighbors that we possibly can be,” Tweed-New Haven Airport Executive Director Sean Scanlon said at the hearing, held on Zoom.

Tweed operator Avports announced a $70 million proposed upgrade to the airport earlier this year which would add a new airline and bump the number of commercial flights up to eight a day. A new terminal would be built and the airport’s runway would be extended to allow for 737 flights by the end of 2023 under the plan.

In the initial two years of the expansion, Tweed’s current terminal would be used and much of the additional traffic would flow through New Haven’s Morris Cove neighborhood. Thursday’s public hearing focused on the impact to the neighborhood of the expansion and the concerns of residents. 

A traffic study found that an estimated 128 additional vehicles a day would traverse New Haven streets during peak airport times, said Don Tone, lead traffic engineer at consulting company Sam Schwartz.

Measures to blunt the impact of the additional traffic include boosting police enforcement, adding sidewalks and lighted pedestrian crossings and diverting arriving vehicles and departing vehicles to different roads. 

Important to the effort would be the airport’s addition of a traffic management director position to act as a liaison between the airport, the neighborhood and the police department. A comprehensive traffic monitoring program would also  be implemented, Tone said. 

Morris Cove residents who spoke at the hearing expressed concern about private flights and the potential for more truck traffic if the airport added freight service. Scanlon said Tweed had no intention of adding cargo flights. 

Private flight numbers at Tweed have declined steadily over the years and have no discernable impact on New Haven traffic, he added.

As for more enforcement of speeding and other rules on streets like Townsend Avenue, residents said they had no luck getting police coverage at existing levels of traffic.  

“Townsend is an extremely dangerous street,” one resident said. “The neighborhood hasn’t been able to get increased police coverage — what special powers do you have?"

Scanlon assured the residents that traffic would be a major priority of the airport as volumes increased.

“No decisions have been made,” Scanlon said. “We are truly here to get your feedback.”

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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