Toronto… Small Town in a Big City’s Clothing
Overview
The continuing war of words between local councillors, residents, Toronto Port Authority and Porter Airlines over the expansion of the Billy Bishop Airport demonstrates that although people think Toronto is sophisticated, cosmopolitan and forward thinking, it really isn’t.
A debate over the noise from planes flying out of Billy Bishop Airport is really quite comical. One has only to look out across the Gardiner to see the sea of new condominiums that have been built along the Lakeshore over the last 20 years. Builders have had no problem selling these units to purchasers who are content to live near an extremely noisy expressway to be downtown and near the lake. Yet, a very small group of homeowners in buildings located near the Billy Bishop Airport were able to inspire an entire city and Council to kill an approved bridge that would have connected the Billy Bishop Airport with the mainland 10 years ago. It is ironic that Mayor Miller’s major legacy of eliminating the fixed link to the mainland from the airport at a cost of $35M to the Canadian taxpayer, did the exact opposite of its goal: The airport has expanded its flights 20 or 30 fold and has continued to grow without the bridge and downtown residential high-rise construction has exploded. A new underground link currently being constructed will eliminate the delays of crossing the ferry and make the island airport even more accessible and streamlined.
The latest proposals to expand the runways to allow for the new Bombardier whisper jets can only make the airport an even better location for business people and consumers alike with ease of access from a downtown that has just exploded on the residential and office side. The new 107 seat jets that recently had their inaugural flights from Bombardier and which will have a range of 3,400 miles are intended to be fuel efficient (20% less fuel perceived) and quieter than the 70 seat turboprops currently being by Air Canada, Jazz and Porter. The use of these planes would open up destinations such as Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver as well as Miami and Orlando.
The opposition to the expansion of the airport is from people who don’t want the airport at all, whether they have turboprops, jets or gliders. They are the same type of people that don’t want condominiums at the corner of Yonge and Bloor, Yonge and Eglinton or St. Clair and Bathurst. Vancouver Burard Inlet is one of the world’s busiest airport for short haul flights and is a hop skip and jump from a sea of condominiums in downtown Vancouver. Cities around the world have wonderful downtown airports that make access easy for short hauls and encourage business people and make business travel so much more accessible. Why is Toronto different?
Porter Airlines is truly a Canadian success story in an industry that is littered with airline failures. The initiative by Olivia Chow and Adam Vaughan (and now former mayor, David Miller) to prevent further expansion of the city airport is small minded and short-sighted. They didn’t want the waterfront casino; they didn’t want the 2008 Olympics and they don’t want an airport that would help bring more tourists and business people into the city. A recent Toronto Port Authority survey found 60% of those interviewed support the island airport expansion and use of jets as long as noise levels do not increase. http://tiny.cc/dh193w
If we want to be a major international city like New York and Paris, we have to start acting like one. Check out David Olive’s column in the Toronto Star. http://tiny.cc/8yp83w
