Kyle, you state:

“I have little sympathy for anyone to moved into their current living arrangements after the tripartite agreement was signed. One should never assume a piece of disused infrastructure will remain that way. It is like moving next to a mothballed streetcar track then complaining about streetcar noise if the city decided to reactivate the route!”

The real story’s the exact opposite:

 Before the city approved all the new residential development on Bathurst Quay in the 1980s, it insisted upon strict controls on noise from the Island Airport – they’re contained in the tripartite agreement, essentially a lease between the City and the Port Authority.

 It is those strict controls that are entirely ignored by the Port Authority and Porter.

 First, while the Q400 may be quiet on the inside, it violates two of the three noise ceilings for aircraft using the Island Airport.

That means it is prohibited as "excessively noisy".

Here's the prohibition, from that agreement:

...propeller-driven aeroplanes ... which generate a noise level in excess of 84.0 EPNdB on takeoff (flyover), or in excess of 83.5 EPNdB on sideline at takeoff (lateral to the flight path) or in excess of 92.0 EPNdB on approach, all calculated in accordance with the procedures set out in ICAO Annex 16, Chapter 5 and Appendix 2

The Toronto Port Authority admitted, in a presentation on February 18, 2009 (CAIR  has a copy) that the Q400 has these noise characteristics:

• · 78.0 EPNdB on takeoff (flyover)· 84.0 EPNdB on sideline at takeoff (lateral to flight path)· 93.1 EPNdB on approach

Clearly over the maximum for both sideline at takeoff, and on approach. (Remember that decibel measurements are logarithmic, and a small exceedance is therefore not insignificant.)

Second, only STOL (Short-Takeoff-and-Landing) aircraft are permitted for commercial operations – the City was concerned, with good reason, it turns out, that a vastly expanded commercial airport would overwhelm its planned residential community.

The Q400 is not STOL.

So residents moved into their homes on Bathurst Quay in reliance on a reasonable expectation that the protections in place to prevent what has happened over the past five years would be respected.

No wonder there was so much anger from those attending last night’s TPA meeting on the proposed tunnel (bridge?), which will only make things worse.