To the Editor:
A few years ago at a meeting in Warwick City Hall, a discussion centered on RIAC’s airport expansion plans. The hall was packed with supporters of this plan. I believe they …
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To the Editor:
A few years ago at a meeting in Warwick City Hall, a discussion centered on RIAC’s airport expansion plans. The hall was packed with supporters of this plan. I believe they were average people like me, most of them looking at the prospect of more jobs being created. I spoke, not to condemn the project but to point out the environmental concerns that I had. Primarily the effect this would have on water quality, specifically my home on Warwick Pond in the Buckeye Brook Watershed. I remember ending my comments with the remark, “What price do we pay for progress?”
Well, the invoice has been delivered and paid in full. The price is much higher than maybe all who attended that meeting realized. Warwick Pond is polluted, y way of life destroyed, and my property values reduced.
Now there will be a meeting on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. at Warwick City Hall, 2nd floor, to discuss the issue. Not often in life do we get a chance for a do-over, but this is one. How many who were there in support of the RIAC project will be in attendance to show your support for the environment?
Save Warwick Pond.
Philip D’Ercole
Warwick
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richardcorrente
Dear Philip,
This spring I volunteered for the annual fish count in the Buckeye Brook Alliance for Bill Aldrich. On 8 separate occasions I went to the Warwick Avenue location just south of Docksider to count the herring and menhaden and take temperature and height measurements of the brook. My friend Bob did it 4 or 5 times too. He counted one small fish in total and I, sadly didn't see any. Eight visits... no fish. You ask "What price do we pay for progress?" "No fish" is the real price. From the Airport Expansion People got air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and no fish. We lost the tax revenue of over 100 houses taken by the Airport, losing millions of real estate tax dollars, ...forever. That means higher taxes from the rest of us,... forever! That price Philip, is way too high.
I'll see you on the 19th.
Here's hoping that the other 80,000 taxpayers are there too! They're paying the same price!
Regards,
Richard Corrente
Democrat for Mayor 2016
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Report this
Norm88
Were the fish able to make it up that far during the Tidewater Bridge project? Either way I agree that there is always a cost to doing business with Airports....
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Report this
bendover
Good post Phil...While you have RIAC and the City of Warwick in the same forum, see if you can get any of them to explain the cost of moving the soccer fields off Airport Road, aside from the obvious concerns about safety and air quality for the players, coaches and families. How much did that new construction and lane zig-zag cost and how was it paid for? We now have police traffic details on that site, how much has that cost and how about the cost of the new traffic lights and will that eliminate the bottle neck concerns while games are played? Where is all this money coming from?
Ideas are worth a penny, execution is worth a million...In this State, when government or quasi public agencies get involved it often seems to cost millions for bad ideas where the taxpayers end up with the bill. It is not funny how health concerns for people and concern for wildlife and the surrounding waters always seem to get short shrift.
Thursday, October 1, 2015 Report this