"Let's hope the new mayor enforces the Tripartite Agreement"
Dear Joe
Yes, let's hope the new mayor does enforce the
Tripartite Agreement. David Miller did not do much of a job in that
department. If the new mayor insists that the terms of the agreement are
followed, it will mean the following.
- The Bombardier Q400 aircraft used by Porter, and soon to be used by Air Canada, will be banned because it cannot meet the STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) requirements in the Tripartite Agreement; and
- The Q400 will also be excluded from the airport because, according to the manufacturers specifications, they exceed the allowable noise limits specified in the Tripartite Agreement. Joe, if you are right that the new Q400 planes are 3 decibels quieter than the ones now operating out of the airport, that is good news, but you can't blame us for being a little skeptical. The City of Toronto can be criticized because they have done nothing, but the Department of Transport and the Toronto Port Authority have avoided and obfuscated the noise issue. Most of us simply do not find them credible any more. They serve the interests of Porter not the people living in the neighbourhood.
But let's get back to the key point that I was
making in my original posting, "Do the math." The announcement that Porter
has ordered another five planes, on top of the twenty they now
operate, and that Air Canada Jazz will be bringing yet another five
Q400 when they begin operations early in the new year, means that there will be
thirty of these big suckers operating out of the Island Airport.
That is a 50% increase in the number of planes!
Think of that, Joe -- 50% INCREASE -- in noise, air
pollution and vehicle traffic!! In my view we have reached the
tipping point. If we value the quality of life of neighbourhoods, if we
want to build a livable city, if we want to create a clean, green
waterfront that was promised by the politicians, then the airport must
close.
Bill Freeman
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