Sure, I'm an "airport enthusiast" whatever that means. I hope it means that I am a compassionate & realistic individual who understands that while airports pollute with noise and greenhouse gasses, they also create jobs that help drive our economy, and allow for the efficient movement of people, goods and services (including MEDEVAC) that the entire community take for granted every day.

If you have convinced yourselves that you and the waterfront can only survive without the TCCA in your midst then you are perhaps not looking at the BIG picture.

I have two children (1 & 2.5 years old) and I care deeply about the world they will inherit from us. To that end, living very close to the busiest airport in Canada, I have to wonder how much the people of Mississauga have benefited from the growth of Pearson and air travel in general.

By the way, quoting passenger capacity projections is a useless guideline for airport capacity because there is no direct correlation to the number of passengers and the number of flights required to move those passengers.

Today, airlines generally fly smaller aircraft more often to the cities they serve. That means 8 X 50 seat aircraft flights per day compared to 4 X 100 seat aircraft flights many years ago.

In this scenario, the number of passengers remains fairly constant but the number of flights is doubled - hence the oversimplification of using passenger numbers as a barometer of airport capacity. It is only one element out of many elements that tells you when an airport might need more terminals.

Someone on the blog stated that Central Park in New York doesn't have an airport, but that same person neglected to mention the 4 airports that serve the Greater New York Area within 10km of Manhattan. After 9/11, former New York Mayor Giuliani was quoted that he wished New York City had a downtown airport like the TCCA.

Furthermore, only in David Miller's Toronto would we look at a strategic infrastructure advantage like the TCCA and try to find ways to get rid of it.

It boggles the mind.

I Absolutely acknowledge that airports and aviation have some negative impacts on our day to day lives. I also choose to temper those thoughts with the reality that airports are also a vital element of a progressive and prosperous society.

It's called compromise, balance & reality.

It's something I have been trying to explain to Community Air since the first time I contacted Allan Sparrow many years ago.

I'm trying to generate ideas that will help make the TCCA as tolerable to local residents as possible. I won't accept short sighted, over simplified and over generalized commentary about airports since I know too much about how they operate and how much they can benefit ALL citizens. I suspect that quietly in public and loudly in private, there is more support for the TCCA than anyone here is willing to acknowledge.

Take Care!
Joe