Michael G. Cheston is probably expecting to hear from Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, soon after he steps into his new office as executive director of T.F. Green Airport on Jan.12.
Avedisian, after all, is most concerned about the airport’s future — and how any further expansions there could impact the quality of life of his constituents.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
For his part, Avedisian has extended his support to the soon-to-be former general manager of Portland International Airport in Oregon, following at least two discussions with him.
But Cheston, 47, a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, may also hear from another high-ranking official concerned about airport expansion, Cranston Mayor John O’Leary.
This past week, O’Leary released the findings of Cranston’s airport noise survey. It is a survey, he said, that raises “some serious quality of life issues.”
In a letter to Herb Cummings, chairman of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, O’Leary detailed the results of the survey. He pointed out that while Warwick residents have long raised concerns about noise, “it now appears that Cranston residents — who had not faced such problems when they first moved to the city — are starting to feel the effects of the airport’s increased volume.”
“The survey let us know the concerns and opinions of our residents while uncovering some serious quality of life issues for the airport’s Cranston neighbors,” said O’Leary.
O’Leary promised to make sure the concerns of his constituents would be heard as airport officials proceed with the adoption of a 20-year Master Plan.
“The residents have spoken, now it is time to make their concerns known,” said O’Leary.
Cranston Planning Department officials distributed 1,000 surveys to randomly selected addresses throughout the city, including the Garden City/Dean Estates and Edgewood/Pawtuxet neighborhoods. Approximately half of those distributed were returned, completed.
According to the survey: “Residents expressed serious concerns that further growth of the airport will have an adverse effect on their quality of life. When asked if they have noticed an increase in aircraft noise, an overwhelming number answered in the affirmative. Many residents offered written comments to elaborate on how the air traffic has affected them. Among the common responses were stories of cracked walls, ceilings and chimneys, objects being knocked off shelves and walls, noise pollution, and health concerns over fuel fallout.”
“When they first moved into the neighborhood, the aircraft noise was not a problem,” said O’Leary. “Now, however, the increased volume of T.F. Green has disrupted their daily lives. At certain times it is hard to carry on a simple telephone conversation There are some beautiful neighborhoods in Cranston that are being impacted by increasing air traffic. This is becoming not just a Warwick issue, but a Cranston issue.”
Contacted at his office on Oregon last Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 12), Cheston said concerns about expansion and the accompanying noise are to be expected. He said he plans to deal with them directly.
“It is always a challenge,” said Cheston. “Someone once told me; ‘You are either an airport with a noise a problem or you are going to have one.’
Cheston said he will make a point of listening to the concerns of airport neighbors.
“It will be my charge to make sure the community is fully engaged,” he said.
Cheston has 13 years experience in airport management, including several years at Reagan National and Dulles International airports, in Washington, D.C. Since 1993, he has been general manager – the second highest-ranking airport official — at Portland International. Cheston was an air traffic controller on active duty in the Marines, from 1977 to 1984.
Portland International serves 13 million passengers per year, compared to T.F. Green’s latest figures of 5.6 million passengers.
But like Portland International, T.F. Green is growing.
According to the most recent Airport Corporation figures, 258,307 passengers boarded flights at T.F. Green last month, compared to 242,573 passengers in Oct. 1999, a change of 6.49 percent. Total passengers served by the airport last month also rose just over 6 percent from a year ago, from 478,741 passengers in Oct. 1999 to 507,518 last month.
Southwest Airlines dominated jet flight travel at Green in October 2000, with 154,677 total passengers and a market share of 33.8 percent.
Southwest is followed by U.S. Airways with 134,963 passengers (29.5 percent), Delta Airlines, with 54,726 passengers (11.9 percent), United Airlines, 32,695 passengers (7.1 percent), Continental Airlines, 27,911 passengers (6.1 percent), and American and Northwest airlines, each with 5.8 percent, or 26, 753 and 26,445 total passengers respectively.
Portland International has also undergone major expansion projects in recent years. There are also plans in Portland for the addition of a fourth major runway and second terminal.
Cheston will hear much talk of runway expansion when he arrives in Rhode Island.
T.F. Green currently has a 7,100-foot prevailing wind runway. That places it at a distinct disadvantage when compared to the 9,000-foot runway in Manchester, New Hampshire. While T.F. Green is the proud home of Southwest Airlines’ Northeast operations, there has been talk that Southwest could make Manchester its hub for a growing number of West Coast flights. It is very real concern of former Gov. Bruce Sundlun, for whom the new terminal at T.F. Green is named.
In a recent interview with the Providence Business News, Sundlun said; “But Manchester if you draw a circle around Boston, T.F. Green is 30 miles off the six o’clock position and Manchester is 30 miles off the 11 o’clock position. They are about the same distance away as we are. Southwest is not going to fold up its tent and move out of T.F. Green. But it could put its West Coast expansion out of Manchester and that would impact the growth of Green. It will impact the service. That growth to the West Coast — those are Rhode Island people that want to go there for whatever reason.”
Cheston replaces the popular Elaine Roberts, who will head Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. He and his wife, Laurie, have two sons.
Cheston will be paid $125,000 per year.
