kEiThZ
Superstar
I think most people who are against the airport would have the airport land become part of the Toronto Island park system and so maximizing revenue would not be so important as park space. Looking at the issues the city is facing collecting a normal tax rate due to it being Federal land as an airport I think that there are some groups which would just be happy to see the TPA not getting a free (or subsidized) ride.
The TPA is firmly moving away from getting a free ride. The more revenues its gets, the more it'll be able to pay the city. I honestly believe that's actually what some people resent. It'll make their case for sinking the airport less tenable.
And while maximizing revenue from the lands may not be a consideration for many, it certainly is for the Feds.
All that said, I don't dispute that there is a case to be made for closing the airport. I just think that case is rather weak at the moment. When people complain that its damaging the waterfront, that case is rather spurrious when there's so many other issues on the waterfront much higher up the priority list for the public.
Okay, but I wouldn't necessarily say that the expansion of the runway is in the public interest, either.
People keep saying it's not in the public interest.
Have you seen the polls? Particularly the recent one by The Star? There is literal public interest in the expansion. And that support is highest in the core, surprisingly.
How people can say it's not in the public interest when the public actually thinks it's in their interest is beyond me.