Residents of East Boston appear to be bracing for yet another battle with the Massachusetts Port Authority, this time over the proposal for a consolidated rental-car facility beside the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel and close to the residential Jeffries Point neighborhood.
The site of more than 40 acres behind Maverick and Geneva streets currently comprises 4,445 parking spaces in six rental-car agencies, a taxi pool, a bus and limousine pool, overflow commercial parking, and the Gate Gourmet flight kitchen.
The proposed facility would include approximately 9,000 spots - 3,000 in long-term parking and 6,000 for rental cars. But, according to Lowell Richards, Massport's chief development officer, it would reduce the "total environmental impact" that ground transportation has on the surrounding area through greater efficiency and compliance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for green buildings.
Richards - while stating that Massport is just starting to plan the first phase, which is to be completed by 2012 and still must go through environmental-impact studies - pointed out that consolidated rental-car facilities are "a trend that other major airports are following in terms of providing services that travelers have come to expect."
But after listening to Massport's initial proposal, which was presented during a meeting Monday night at the Jeffries Point Yacht Club, the 50 or so East Boston residents present expressed their displeasure.
"It seems to me, as a person who's lived in the neighborhood all my life, that to shove all these parking spots in front of a neighborhood that touches the airport is very poor design," said Mary Ellen Welch, a longtime community activist. "With houses so close along Maverick, Cottage, and Jeffries streets, it looks to me like it's the worst possible place to put a facility like this, in a densely populated neighborhood. We have to suck in all this particulate matter every time the cars move."
When Karen Maddalena, president of the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association, asked Massport's transportation planning manager, Craig Leiner, whether other parts of the country that have similar facilities are in residential areas, he sighed deeply before answering: "Basically not."
"That is why our neighborhood scrutinizes everything the Port Authority does," state Senator Anthony Petruccelli said Tuesday. "Because, unfortunately, everything they do is close to a neighborhood. There's something to be said for consolidating environmental impact; I think that's irrefutable. But the real question for this particular property now is, what are the other locations you can look at for it?"
Other elected officials share these sentiments. "If we could cut down on the emissions, it makes sense," said City Councilor Salvatore LaMattina. "I heard the residents' concerns last night, and I think we need to address them."
LaMattina, Petruccelli, and newly elected state Representative Carlo Basile all pointed out the need to explore such options as hybrid-car requirements.
Massport officials conceded that residents had a point about the location. When asked whether he would like to see the facility in his own backyard, Richards answered, "No. I'll be honest about that. But the question is, can we do this in such a way as to minimize the environmental impacts?" Those effects include not only air pollution, but also noise and wind issues, edge buffering, landscaping, aesthetics, and allowing bike and pedestrian access, among other issues.
One request strongly voiced by residents was the possibility of obtaining a second environmental study from an independent consultant to be paid for by Massport.
"The community, which is made up mostly of lay people, is going to have a tough time digesting it from the environmental review standpoint," said lawyer and Eastie native Richard Lynds.
"If the Port Authority is serious about a meaningful community process, it should look at ways to make sure the community has appropriate technical assistance to understand the filings."
Several residents raised the issue of old wounds that Massport has inflicted on East Boston over the years, not the least of which were the takeover of Wood Island Park in the late 1960s and the community's recent defeat in opposing expansion of the runway system.
"East Boston's been a dumping ground for years," Basile said Tuesday, "whether it be because we have the most low-income housing, airport expansion, or talk about putting in a casino. Not just the politicians, but the people, too, need to stand up and say enough's enough.
"With the air pollution and the cars in back of people's yards, whether there's a buffer zone or not, I don't see how [Massport] can expect little kids on the abutting streets to go back in their yards and play. They don't care."
