TPA going ahead with plans for the tunnel to the island airport
The headline on the lead story in today's Toronto Star is "Tunnel to island airport by 2011?" You can find it at this address.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/685512
The story reports that the Toronto Port Authority is moving ahead with plans to build a pedestrian tunnel under the Western Gap to the island airport. The TPA will be requesting government infrastructure money for the $38 million project, and they are calling for proposals to conduct an environmental assessment on the project.
This is bound to be controversial for a number of reasons. Mayor Miller and the majority of council voted against a fixed link to the island airport as recently as 2003. The pedestrian tunnel is nowhere on the city's agenda of infrastructure projects. Their priority is for public transit, not a tunnel to benefit Porter Airlines.
Mark McQueen, the chair of the Toronto Port Authority, claims that "the port authority would not need signoff from the city to build the tunnel, saying it's permitted under the existing three government agreement that governs the airport." This is questionable. There is a federal government regulation in effect that prohibits a fixed link, and the Tripartite Agreement governing the airport gives the city veto power over these types of projects. If the port authority tries to move ahead without city approval there is bound to be a huge political battle and likely a court challenge.
What is ominous is that the new Canada Marine Act gives the federal government the power to allocate the city's share of infrastructure money to projects designed by the port authority.
One thing is certain, however. The Toronto Star story says, "The tunnel could encourage more traffic and result in more daily flights." (For accuracy the word "could" should be changed to "will.")
Mayor David Miller is sticking to his guns. "We don't need a busy commercial airport downtown. We have a busy commercial airport at Pearson that by international standards, is right for the city... Every other thing we're doing in partnership with Ottawa and Queen's Park is about revitalizing the waterfront."
The battle lines are drawn. The mayor is on one side and the Toronto Port Authority is on the other. Island Airport expansion could well become the major issue in the city once again.
Bill Freeman
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/685512
The story reports that the Toronto Port Authority is moving ahead with plans to build a pedestrian tunnel under the Western Gap to the island airport. The TPA will be requesting government infrastructure money for the $38 million project, and they are calling for proposals to conduct an environmental assessment on the project.
This is bound to be controversial for a number of reasons. Mayor Miller and the majority of council voted against a fixed link to the island airport as recently as 2003. The pedestrian tunnel is nowhere on the city's agenda of infrastructure projects. Their priority is for public transit, not a tunnel to benefit Porter Airlines.
Mark McQueen, the chair of the Toronto Port Authority, claims that "the port authority would not need signoff from the city to build the tunnel, saying it's permitted under the existing three government agreement that governs the airport." This is questionable. There is a federal government regulation in effect that prohibits a fixed link, and the Tripartite Agreement governing the airport gives the city veto power over these types of projects. If the port authority tries to move ahead without city approval there is bound to be a huge political battle and likely a court challenge.
What is ominous is that the new Canada Marine Act gives the federal government the power to allocate the city's share of infrastructure money to projects designed by the port authority.
One thing is certain, however. The Toronto Star story says, "The tunnel could encourage more traffic and result in more daily flights." (For accuracy the word "could" should be changed to "will.")
Mayor David Miller is sticking to his guns. "We don't need a busy commercial airport downtown. We have a busy commercial airport at Pearson that by international standards, is right for the city... Every other thing we're doing in partnership with Ottawa and Queen's Park is about revitalizing the waterfront."
The battle lines are drawn. The mayor is on one side and the Toronto Port Authority is on the other. Island Airport expansion could well become the major issue in the city once again.
Bill Freeman
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