Photo Courtesy of citynews.ca Aerial View of Toronto Billy Bishop Airport
By: She
The issue is not new and is still a highly debated one in the city. I chose this as my inaugural post for this blog because I had to fly out of Toronto’s Island Airport (formally Billy Bishop Airport YTO) the other week. My flight had been cancelled, along with many others, at 5 o’ clock that morning due to fog, so as I waited to see if I could catch a later flight it got me thinking about the whole Island Airport expansion and allowing jets to fly in and out.
For anyone reading this who is not familiar with the Toronto area airport situation, note that there is already an international airport that borders Toronto and the City of Mississauga: Pearson International Airport. This is the major air transportation hub in the province of Ontario, supporting connections to other large cities across the country and flying to hundreds of international destinations. Those who run the Island Airport, which currently focuses on short domestic flights as well as providing connections to key cities on the east coast of the U.S. such as Boston, Washington D.C and New York City, want to expand the airport so that they too can fly jets off their runway. Note: runway, not runways, as the Island Airport only has one.
I live my life doing my very best not to ruin a good thing. I do this by taking into account an item’s functional capacity and not abusing it. Simple examples are that I don’t run in high heels because I will likely break my ankle and/or the heel of the shoe, or that I don’t wear my suede coat out when it is raining to avoid a situation like Jerry’s in “The Jacket” episode of Seinfeld.
Flying jets out of the Island Airport is ruining a good thing. Right now, you head downtown, take the world’s shortest ferry ride to the terminal, check in and proceed to the lounge to sit in comfortable armchairs and get free snacks and coffee while you wait to board your flight. Since flights are smaller there are rarely ever lines and the experience is quite enjoyable. The Island Airport primarily functions to support people travelling on business or those headed for a long weekend/short stay somewhere, so there is not typically large pieces of luggage being checked. Add jets and the quality of the experience at the airport will change. Jets will bring more people, which will require more security, longer lines, more baggage to be checked as people are likely to be travelling for longer periods to destinations further away. Imagine 300 people getting onto the ferry (which will apparently soon be a pedestrian bridge) so they can catch their flight to London, England or Los Angeles, California – I shudder at the thought.
The impact on the actual airport experience is just the first consideration. The people who bought condos that have been recently built around that area (CityPlace/Fort York Blvd area) may decide to sell or rent them out and move away from the sounds of jets taking off all day. Renters (certainly not all but more so than owners) do not take as good care of a dwelling as an owner would, which then increases potential for damage to units and common elements, property values decreasing while maintenace fees increase, and overall comments that the neighbourhood or area are not a great place to live.
The living situation directly corresponds with the impact on transit in the area. There may be increased congestion and traffic on the nearby Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Blvd as more cars/taxis are trying to access the airport to pick up and drop off travelers. The already busy streetcars (511 Bathurst and 509 Queens Quay routes) would have to support additional capacity as new riders board with their luggage than ever before. If we are going to put jets at the Island Airport, it is unclear why so much funding was put into the Union-Pearson Express, which is designed to support rapid access to downtown from the International Airport.
The argument for the island airport is about business opportunity, not about helping people in Toronto, although some articles have stated that jets flying from the Island Airport will support saving people the time and money it takes to get to Pearson Airport, as it is easier to access the Island than Pearson. Let me be very blunt – a couple from Scarborough will not have it any easier getting to the Island Airport than they will to Pearson. The former involves sitting in downtown traffic or taking multiple transit modes, while the latter involves sitting in highway traffic.
Then there is the debate that people downtown don’t want to deal with the commute to Pearson when they can just hop to the Island Airport. How nice to provide a perspective from a small sector of what is a giant city. I live just west of the downtown core (in what would still be considered Toronto pre-amalgamation) and the difference in Pearson vs Island commute time for me is about 15 mins more to Pearson. If I have to wait for the island ferry, then I can be checking in for my fight at Pearson sooner than the Island. Note: I live “south of Bloor” which is a big thing for certain Torontonians. Those north of Bloor can probably almost always get to Pearson faster. The Union Pearson Express train also voids this argument of the island being easier to travel to for a downtowner.
Lastly, I debated including this but felt it was also worth consideration, downtown Toronto is the business centre of Canada and a major tourist destination (CN Tower, Skydome, Air Canada Centre, Habourfront). It does not matter to me how much time has passed since September 11th, I will never feel 100% comfortable seeing jets carrying hundreds of passengers so close to the tallest landmarks of the city. At least Pearson is located out of the way of such things. I know nothing of the flight paths that are taken to land any type of plane, but if I was working on a high floor of First Canadian Place, taking pictures from the observation deck of the CN Tower, or watching a concert or baseball game when the dome is open and heard or saw a jet fly-by so close I would think twice about it. Perhaps that is just me.
Let the Island Airport continue to be amazing for what it is: a business and short term travelers airport. Don’t try to make it more like Pearson, which is already well equipped for jets and handling numerous international carriers. Let us try not to mess with something that is working really great.
Additional thoughts and facts about the airport debate can be found here:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/12/17/bring_on_the_jets_at_the_island_airport.html
we live the city 