Publishers Comment
As Gabirelle David noted we are getting more comments on our CommunityAIR blog. Most have been anti-Island Airport but some of these comments have been pro-airport. As the so called "publisher" of the blog (That title should be taken loosely. I play the role more of "gatekeeper" than publisher.) I felt that we should publish these comments.
This is not meant to disguise the fact that CommunityAIR is strongly, even vehemently, opposed to the Island Airport and advocate that it be closed. If you go on our website, www.communityair.org , you will find all of the reasons why we oppose the Island Airport. As we argue at length, this airport is unsafe, polluting and attracts far more vehicle traffic than the neighbourhood can reasonably handle, but there is an even more important reason for our opposition.
As long as the airport exists it will stop the redevelopment of the west end of the harbour and is incompatible with the creation of a "clean, green Waterfront." The airport occupies 215 acres of land on Toronto Island. This land has the possibility of being transformed so that it contributes to a truly magnificent Waterfront that all people of the city can be proud of, but that transformation cannot happen unless the airport is closed.
Imagine the airport lands integrated into the Toronto Island Park so that a person can explore this wonderful natural environment from the Western Gap, through Hanlan's Point, past the Island lighthouse, the oldest standing structure in the city, through Centre Island and the quirky neighbourhood of Ward's Island, to the Eastern Gap.
Imagine an iconic building on the Airport lands - a structure that inspires us like the Sydney Opera House or the British Parliament Building on the Thames. Imagine new facilities like seniors' centres, markets and Hanlan's beach overlooking Humber Bay. This land holds the promise for the new City of Toronto that values neighbourhoods and quality of life.
That is the dream of the members of CommunityAIR, and we can realize it, if the Island Airport is finally closed. We have only to let loose our imagination in order to achieve a clean, green waterfront, open and accessible to everyone.
Bill Freeman, for CommunityAIR
This is not meant to disguise the fact that CommunityAIR is strongly, even vehemently, opposed to the Island Airport and advocate that it be closed. If you go on our website, www.communityair.org , you will find all of the reasons why we oppose the Island Airport. As we argue at length, this airport is unsafe, polluting and attracts far more vehicle traffic than the neighbourhood can reasonably handle, but there is an even more important reason for our opposition.
As long as the airport exists it will stop the redevelopment of the west end of the harbour and is incompatible with the creation of a "clean, green Waterfront." The airport occupies 215 acres of land on Toronto Island. This land has the possibility of being transformed so that it contributes to a truly magnificent Waterfront that all people of the city can be proud of, but that transformation cannot happen unless the airport is closed.
Imagine the airport lands integrated into the Toronto Island Park so that a person can explore this wonderful natural environment from the Western Gap, through Hanlan's Point, past the Island lighthouse, the oldest standing structure in the city, through Centre Island and the quirky neighbourhood of Ward's Island, to the Eastern Gap.
Imagine an iconic building on the Airport lands - a structure that inspires us like the Sydney Opera House or the British Parliament Building on the Thames. Imagine new facilities like seniors' centres, markets and Hanlan's beach overlooking Humber Bay. This land holds the promise for the new City of Toronto that values neighbourhoods and quality of life.
That is the dream of the members of CommunityAIR, and we can realize it, if the Island Airport is finally closed. We have only to let loose our imagination in order to achieve a clean, green waterfront, open and accessible to everyone.
Bill Freeman, for CommunityAIR
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