Sunport Boulevard Extension Project – Health Impact Assessment
HIP and partners recently submitted a comment letter to Bernalillo County that included the HIA, “Shining a Light on Health: How the Sunport Boulevard Extension Project Will Affect Health and Well-Being.” In analyzing the County’s Environmental Assessments for the proposed roadway project, we found insufficient evidence to justify the stated purpose and central need for the project, which was to relieve traffic congestion. Furthermore, the proposal would add to the unfair environmental burden of a south Albuquerque community already besieged with hazardous chemicals and air pollution. Specifically, not only does the San Jose community not appear to suffer from the traffic congestion used to justify the extension, but the extension could harm public health through increased air emissions and unsafe streets. Additionally, despite requirements from the Council on Environmental Quality that cumulative impacts be considered, both versions of the Environmental Assessment failed to undertake meaningful cumulative impacts analyses in each of the subject areas covered – an alarming omission given that the community has been next door to industrial and commercial operations for over a century.