And that article is
here:
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Toronto Island airport expansion set for takeoff
Air traffic to grow up to 77 per cent by the end of 2010
Jennifer Yang
Staff reporter
Published On Wed Dec 30 2009
For the Toronto Island airport, 2010 will be the year of expansion.
As Porter Airlines' $45 million terminal nears completion, the Toronto Port Authority is announcing a need for "further capital expenditures" at the airport, anticipating as many as 92 additional daily flights by the end of 2010.
Currently, Porter is the sole commercial carrier operating from the recently renamed Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, with access to 120 "slots" – spaces allocated for takeoffs and landings each day. Before Porter, the airport handled 25,000 passengers annually; this year that number is expected to reach 750,000.
Several airlines have been eyeing Billy Bishop's runways, according to port authority chairman Mark McQueen. In a recent news release, the port authority announced it could add between 42 and 92 slots per day once the new terminal is completed, a potential increase in air traffic by as much as 77 per cent.
"Based upon the informal requests we've received from commercial carriers, demand for new slots far exceeds the supply available," McQueen said in the release.
Continental Airlines and Air Canada Jazz are rumoured to be interested, with the latter still fighting to return to the island where it once flew.
The increase in flights puts the port authority on a collision course with island and waterfront residents concerned about noise and pollution, as well as Councillor Adam Vaughan, a vocal critic.
The port authority's announcement was triggered by a preliminary report from an updated noise impact study and "capacity assessment."
The study, by aviation consultant Jacobs Consultancy analyzed noise guidelines, hours of operation, infrastructure limitations and the availability of parking and transportation, among other things.
The port authority's release, which was issued Christmas Eve, says the study identified a need for future capital expenditures, although it didn't specify what this could entail. The port authority recently bought a new ferry to shuttle passengers to the airport.
Port authority officials did not respond to the Star's requests for an interview Tuesday.
Waterfront residents have always fiercely resisted island airport expansion, whether it comes in the form of increased air traffic or a proposed $38 million tunnel that would connect the airport to the mainland, a controversial idea shelved earlier this year.
"We're so distressed about what was meant to be a small inconsequential airport has just been ramping up and ramping up into this major commercial airport. ... This is such a travesty for all visitors to Toronto's waterfront," said Pam Mazza, a board member of CommunityAIR, a grassroots organization that wants to close the airport.
"The focal point for CommunityAIR is the noise and the pollution and the safety elements of this airport," said Mazza.
"This is not an island community issue. This is a waterfront Toronto issue. This is about every visitor who comes to this park, every visitor who comes to the waterfront, every community living on the waterfront. ... It's about noise, it's about pollution, it's all the things about airports that do not belong in a residential, recreational neighbourhood.
"Nothing about this airport fits in with any other user group on the waterfront, whether it be residential, recreational or the huge bird sanctuary that is so critical to the migratory patterns of the birds.
"They do engine run-ups on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. (servicing the engines so they are revved at high rates for five to 15 minutes at a time)."
Mayor David Miller has also been a prominent opponent of overdeveloping the airport, but as he prepares to leave city hall, some fear the port authority is taking the opportunity to ramp up plans for expansion.
Vaughan is concerned about the announcement's implications. "(The Toronto Port Authority) would have to start bending rules," he said, adding the potential flight additions will violate the 1983 Tripartite Agreement, which governs the airport.
Struck between the port authority, federal government and the city, the agreement doesn't specify the maximum number of slots allowed for island flights but it does impose noise limits. Vaughan said an extra 92 flights would be a breach of acceptable noise thresholds.
Brian Iler, the chair of CommunityAIR, is imploring city officials to step in and enforce the Tripartite Agreement. He said the Christmas Eve announcement is just another example of the port authority testing how far it can bend the rules.
"I see this as a shot across the bow," Iler said. "They want to see if they can really get away with it."
With files from Dale Anne Freed