[URBAN NOTE] "Porter extension on Toronto Island would threaten Hanlan's Point: councillors"

[rfmcdonald]

Xtra!'s Andrea Houston comes up comes up with another reason to oppose the expansion of the Toronto Island airport: it would disrupt the nude beach at Hanlan's Point. (Or would it? The map included in Houston's article doesn't indicate an airstrip coming that close to the beach, the west-east expansion being perpendicular to the north-south beach. I remain to be convinced.)

[A] recent Porter Airlines request to extend its runway to accommodate jets and increased airline traffic has some waterfront residents and community activists worried that Hanlan’s Point is at risk if the extension gets a green light.

Nick Mulé, chair of Queer Ontario, is very concerned. His group holds an annual summer picnic in the park in the tradition of Toronto’s first Gay Day Picnic, which was held at Hanlan’s Point on Aug 1, 1971. He says Toronto’s TNTmen pushed the city to carve out a nude beach at Hanlan’s Point in 2002. “Historically, that place is very important to our community,” Mulé says.

Councillor Pam McConnell, whose ward includes the Toronto Islands, says the extensions proposed for each side of the east-west runway are equal in size to two football fields. Going through with the project would mean losing large portions of the lake. “When you think of it that way, the only place that the extension could go is directly across Hanlan’s . . . Environmentally, this is a disaster. Picture yourself bathing with suits on or off, and every five minutes there’s a jet going over your head.”

Toronto city council voted 29 to 15 on May 7 to authorize a staff study of issues related to Porter’s request. The first part of the study is expected to be reported at the July 3 executive committee and will return to full council in November. The estimated expense of the initial studies is $275,000, with follow-up work expected to cost between $800,000 and $1 million. The city wants to absorb these costs.

After the May 7 meeting, Porter CEO Robert Deluce told media he is “gratified” by the support he heard from councillors and hopes for a speedy approval once the reports are released.

But McConnell says “it’s shocking” that Porter has asked councillors to act urgently because new jet planes have already been purchased. “Imagine the arrogance of a corporation that announces their plans on Wall Street, which are illegal, and buys the equipment to do it, then afterward asks for permission,” she says. “This is not a good corporate partner . . . This is totally unethical behaviour.”