City
Morning Brew: April 28th, 2009
Photo: "untitled" by Squeakyrat, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
A small group of protesters (including Toronto Councillors Adam Vaughan and Olivia Chow) showed up to speak out against plans by Porter Airlines (endorsed by feds Jim Flaherty and John Baird) to build a new terminal and double they fleet at the Toronto Island Airport [G&M]. It's likely little consolation for the downtowners who oppose the plan, but 10 new turboprops running from the island likely means a few less jets flying over Mississauga and a few hundred less taxis driving to and from Pearson.
If you were an immigrant business owner and got a phone call demanding that you send them thousands of dollars to a foreign country or face violence, what would you do? Police are hoping that rather than obliging, victims of extortion cases like this (in Markham and Richmond Hill) report the incidents instead.
High Park dog walkers are going to be part of a pilot program that aims to have pooch poop diverted from landfill - by offering paper poopie bags and green bins throughout the park [Star]. A few problems may prevent this from working out, including the questionable suitability of the paper bags for larger pooping dogs, squeamishness on the part of poop-picker-uppers, and the potential for plastic bags ending up in the poopy bins anyhow. Poop.
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I'm having a hard time making much sense of this news piece [CityNews]. Apparently a Toronto woman who fell ill in Mexico (and NOT with swine flu) is being told by an unknown person or organization that she can't return to Canada because there are no beds for her back home, even though there are beds available and she's in stable enough condition to fly. Did I get that right?
University Avenue is closed to traffic again today [Sun], as Tamil protesters continue to peacefully occupy the streets. It's not certain when the protests (and the minor inconveniences to Torontonians) will end, or when the downtown stretch of road will return to normal. Will the message of the people in Toronto be heard by the U.S., Canada and the United Nations and create action in Sri Lanka? I guess time only will tell.
And Build Toronto is continuing to earmark various locations around the city that are "ripe for development" [Star]. It would be great to see some of this land used for TTC commuter lot expansion.
Discussion
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RE: Porter expansion
"It's likely little consolation for the downtowners who oppose the plan, but 10 new turboprops running from the island likely means a few less jets flying over Mississauga and a few hundred less taxis driving to and from Pearson."
Interesting and seldom-heard points.
In my humble opinion, the energy spent on opposition to the airport would be far better spent on protecting the next big area that is slated to be filled with condo towers: the old port lands.
When Mayor Dave packs it in and a mayor who recognises a good thing when he sees it replaces him, maybe we'll get a bridge to the airport with streetcars from Bathurst and Union replacing the ferry. From the airport to the Queens Quay and Bathurst tracks is only about 350-400m, and it would also provide closer TTC service to Ireland Park and Little Norway Park.
RE: Porter expansion
I have flown Porter many times, and am excited to see them expand - especially with the new link to Boston. Connecting Toronto with NYC, Chicago, and Boston is crucial to the vitality of our startup community in Toronto, and kudos to Porter for not only providing this service but actually being successful despite the economy.
For me, the real casualty in the fight against Porter was the island bridge. I agree with keeping all cars off the islands, but a bridge could have made it a lot easier for pedestrians and cyclists to access the islands. The current passenger ferries are fun the first time, then impossibly frustrating in the summer with hoards of tourists.
Um, the bridge would have gone to the airport only, not to the park.
To get to the park from the proposed bridge, you would have needed Transport Canada security clearance to get on the airport apron, and tower clearance to cross the runways. I can't see many cyclists or pedestrians dialing up 121.7 on their VHF radio to get that.
Markdowling, a streetcar bridge (with the needed overhead wires) that is able to lift up and let boat traffic through would be an insanely cool toy, but it ain't never gonna happen.
"On the noise issue, Porter officials pointed to the fact that planes were taking off less than 100 metres away without interrupting the news conference."
Toronto Island residents are exclusionists, plain and simple. That sort of statement will be ignored and again and again they'll claim there are noise problems that don't actually exist.
I've been ON a porter turboprop and sitting about 10 feet away from the engine I can tell you that its quieter than when a jumbo jet flies overhead several thousand feet.
ugh, again we have to deal with the whiny pricks trying to prevent economic development (no not the protests on university, the fact that people are trying to stop job creation, an expansion of one of the few successful airlines, and make it harder for travellers to reach downtown).
Yay to porter.
It is the more enviro friendly. I can take the streetcar to it, and have. My alternatives was driving to Montreal or getting driven and picked up form the airport (4 car trips total) to get on another bigger plane.
So let's say you have 60 passengers going to Montreal on a porter flight. That's potentially 60 cars off the road. Making round trips to Pearson.
Peaceful Tamil protest? Not any more. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/625497
"It would be great to see some of this land used for TTC commuter lot expansion." That is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. Sell the land to bulk up city coffers. If we have much better transit to the stations all of these people can get to them, as well as car owners: the young, the old, the poor, and people like me who don't want to buy a car just because our region's transit is a running joke for a city this size.
Or ... the bus?
>Tamil protesters continue to peacefully occupy
There is nothing peaceful about passive violence.
"We have to be the change we wish to see. Unless we change individually, no one is going to change collectively. For generations we have been waiting for the other person to change first. A change of heart cannot be legislated; it must come out of conviction." - Gandhi
thatguy, it's pretty easy to take the TTC to the proper airport.
Porter is better because of their vastly more efficient planes.
thatguy, that's a nice thought... except that when you take those 60 cars off the road, you are replacing them with an airplane that will have greater GHG emissions per capita than those 60 cars. You'd be better off staying hopping on a different streetcar and taking the train.
So does Porter save trips to the airport? Of course. Does it save any short-haul flights which are arguably quite terrible for the environment. Nope. That's the problem in my mind, and that's less of a problem with Porter than it is with airlines and people in general.
rmcw, yes it's better to take a train to Montreal or Ottawa. But what about Chicago? Newark? Thunder Bay? Any direct trains to those places?
Say what you want about the environmental cost of flights, if you have the facts. Porter's turbo-props use less fuel to achieve the same thrust as jets, and fly at lower altitudes: both better for the environment. Some models show that a full turbo-prop is more efficient than a single-occupant car, which makes some sense.
A full train is more efficient, but when do you expect to have a reliable service between Toronto and Montreal/Ottawa, much less anywhere else?
Ratpatrick, there is a direct train to Penn Station in New York. The trip to Chicago is one transfer in Buffalo. Thunder Bay is the only one you would have to fly to. Of course, there is always the bus as well...
On a trip to Montreal last year I took the train (6 hours) there and Porter (45 minutes) back. Even allowing for the trip to the airport and checking in, it was three hours from my hotel to my place in Little Italy by streetcar.
It's the same issue transit in this region can't seem to get around; time versus cost is the issue most people take into consideration when travelling. That's been Porter's advantage over Via and the Island Airport's over Pearson.
Ah, but the bus is for plebs!
I don't get it. I read the article but other than a bit of light pushing I didn't see any suggestion that the protest was no longer peaceful. I did read a number of retarded comments from people complaining about traffic but that's about it.
I second that -- I took the bus from Buffallo to NYC (I live in Ft. Erie) and flew back. Bus took about 10 hours, plane took maybe an hour (three if you include check-in and security). Amazing thing is they both cost me about the same dollar-wise.
Porter will go to Boston? AWESOME!
Tamil protests: what country would allow its main street to be closed by a bunch of thugs! Why don't the cops just purge them already? You want to protest? go to Nathan Phillips plaza!
handfed: what kind? The only countries that don't allow peaceful protests in the streets are places like China.
A lot more attention is garnered by shutting down a big street than by protesting at city hall.
People on the island need to stop whining and realize that there are other needs at stake and yes, an expanded porter airline may well diminish the need for certain flights at Pearson....i think it's time that island residents move their exclusionist hippy commune elswhere and let reasonable progress take place....good thing they don't want to put a nightclub at the airport, the residents would s##t their pants..
Think of all the poor trees and animals those rail roads destroyed!!!
The trees they destroyed are already long gone you say, well the same mentality can be used - that flight is gonna fly there whether your on the plane or not.
I agree ddt. We all know the island residents don't actually own those homes, yadda, yadda yadda.
Its like moving to the city, moving into club district then filing noise complaints against the clubs and bars.
The Neon Bus is super cheap to NYC if you book in advance. I've taken it many times.
+ Free WiFi the whole way
Check it out
http://www.neonbus.com/index.html
whereas the rest of us that own homes in the city have to put up with every make and manner of noise, construction, parade, plane, truck,tamil protest......yada yada....
I love how the main photo projects that business' paranoia onto the general public while a) admitting it has no idea where its employees go and b) notifying them at the precise moment they're putting their potentially swine-flu infected hands on the front door instead of calling them at home ahead of time.
Lighten up, people. http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/4390/swineflunoticee.jpg
Your right!!!
Can we hold all protests on the island from now on? Seems that the voice of the residents there is louder than anywhere else.
I think the photo is at a medical/walk-in clinic. They're not talking to their employees but concerned about isolating people who may have been exposed to the virus from other sick people waiting to be seen.
Whoops :) I still like my sign better.
Woa, NEON bus goes to Buff Airport? US and International flights from there are $100s cheaper than from Pearson. Thanks Sarah!
I'm expecting the island airport to keep pushing the limit, I bet we'll be seeing a longer runway and full size jets within 20 years.
You won't see jets at YTZ - it's not exactly safe (difference between a landing and a terrorist attack is too small to notice when it can be stopped), the demand isn't there, and there just isn't enough room for a full up airport. The turbo props are just about perfectly sized for the market and hit the right range. 737s would be half full of people who wanted to be in the burbs or were making long-haul connections.
The noise complaints are insane - I'm within a 10 minute walk of YTZ (far closer than almost all of the Islanders) and never hear the planes. I constantly hear the street cars and the noise from GO and VIA trains makes Pearson sound peaceful (damn diesel turbines are loud going uphill). But that's what you get living in the heart of the city and within walking distance of enarly everything.
The Feds should expropriate and evict the islanders. Too bad the politicians caved into the hippie squatters back in the day. Islanders are nothing but greedy criminals who've converted public land for private use and hold the city hostage to maintain their utopian idyll.