T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationThe Study Area has a number of smaller shopping plazas along Post Road and Warwick Avenue includingAirport Plaza, Wal-Mart, Ann & Hope Curtain and Bath Outlet, the Gateway Shopping Center, and theGovernor Francis Shopping Center. Many independent retail and local service firms operate from older stripmall centers and from converted residential buildings in the Study Area.In 2004, the Study Area supported approximately 25,000 non-governmental jobs in 1,500 establishments.Manufacturing and service sectors account for the largest share of establishments, and jobs and transportationservices are the Study Area’s largest employment sector with 3,200 jobs. 175 In 2004, the transportation servicesemployment in the Study Area was three times that found in the combined Warwick and Cranston economiesand five times higher than in the State of Rhode Island as a whole. The Study Area captures Warwick’s entireemployment base in air transportation and courier services. Moreover, three of the four post offices in the Cityare in the Study Area, including a major U.S. Postal Service mail sorting facility on Strawberry Field Road.In 2004, the Study Area, anchored by the Airport, was the major economic component of Warwick and continues tobe today. Under the Baseline Condition, the Study Area businesses (1,477 total) account for almost half of Warwick’sbusiness establishments and employment base (25,310 employees total) while consisting of less than 25 percent ofWarwick’s total land area.Additional sectors that are more prevalent in the Study Area than in Warwick as a whole include manufacturing,freight services, ground passenger transportation, wholesaling, accommodations, and construction. Each of thesesectors is also likely to be heavily influenced by the Airport. Finance and insurance sectors are also moreprominent industries in the economy of the Study Area than Warwick as a whole. Conversely, services, retailtrade, and food services are less prominent in the economy of the Study Area than in the City as a whole.Aviation Business and Employment ProfileThe Airport-specific analysis is presented in three categories: airport-dependent, aviation-reliant and other. “Airportdependent”jobs are those that are located in the Study Area to serve aviation businesses at the Airport or travelers whouse the Airport. 176 “Aviation-reliant” businesses use air transportation more intensively than seen in the generaleconomy for transporting goods and for business travel and are typically located in close proximity to an airport. 177“Other” industries in the Study Area are those that serve local or regional needs, such as restaurants located off-Airport.Figure 4-10 shows the location of and Table 4-11 lists the airport-related businesses within the Study Area. 178Airport-dependent businesses within the Study Area total 89 firms and account for 3,380 airport-dependent jobs.Aviation-reliant businesses in the Study Area total 474 firms and employ 5,080 people. Of the total Study Area,airport-dependent industries and aviation-reliant businesses account for 38 percent of all businesses and 33 percent ofall employment, and pay out $350 million in wages (36 percent of wages). 179 Table 4-12 lists industries that areclassified as airport-dependent and gives examples of these types of businesses in the Study Area.175 Services sector includes professional and technical services, educational services, administrative services, health care, social assistance, repair andmaintenance services, and personal services.176 These industries have been identified on the basis of economic studies of airports nationally, including Massachusetts, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona, andVirginia. This portion of the analysis will be reexamined when the economic study of the airport now underway is completed by RIAC.177 These industries are identified on the basis of national data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics thatreport industries that are major consumers of air transportation services, and therefore most likely to locate in close proximity to an airport.178 The 2006 RIAC economic impact study documents 2,318 jobs on the T.F.Green Airport, including 418 Warwick residents. Given the detail of data in thestudy, it is not certain how many jobs would be double-counted if these on-airport jobs were added to those jobs identified as “aviation-dependent.”179 Airport-related businesses include airport-dependent and aviation-reliant.Chapter 4 – Affected Environment 4-20 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH04_Affected_Env_JUL_2011.doc