Woodbridge_Heights
Senior Member
Unless I'm missing something from the runway extension plans. Extending the runway affects both directions not just one.
Unless I'm missing something from the runway extension plans. Extending the runway affects both directions not just one.
Northern Light
Superstar
Uhh, that's literally what I said in the post above.
Woodbridge_Heights
Senior Member
Northern Light
Superstar
Depending on required take-off distance/aircraft type this is true; though options are shown for a uni-directional extension, but it results in shorter take-off / landing distances.
This is shown in the associated chart.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
rdaner
Senior Member
The Waterfront For All Update Meeting was last night. Brian Bowen, of Bathurst Silos fame, is to become the city’s point man for the discussion on the future of the Island Airport Lands. Also the pressure to make a decision on the runway extension is building quickly as the deadline to have it finished is in about two years. It was mentioned that the main tenant, Porter is unhappy with how much it costs to operate out of this location versus Pearson.
Less immediate was an interesting slide of a proposal from the early 2000s that would have extended Hanlan’s Beach to just under a kilometre and reintroduced wetlands assuming the airport leaves. Also I wondered how the great increase in boat traffic in the harbour would be affected by the absence of a restrictive flight path. Would a cruise ship terminal make more sense in the Western Harbour as opposed to its isolated current location?
Less immediate was an interesting slide of a proposal from the early 2000s that would have extended Hanlan’s Beach to just under a kilometre and reintroduced wetlands assuming the airport leaves. Also I wondered how the great increase in boat traffic in the harbour would be affected by the absence of a restrictive flight path. Would a cruise ship terminal make more sense in the Western Harbour as opposed to its isolated current location?
Northern Light
Superstar
Towered
Superstar
If the huge footprint of the airport were to become available for redevelopment, I'd much rather see that land be converted to usable park space with a variety of features rather than given over to wetlands.
SubHuman
Active Member
At this point, I wonder if Porter may be quietly hoping the deadline passes and gives them a valid excuse to cease operating at YTZ. And with apparently no other airline interested in taking up the already available slots, now is the time to start deciding the future of the island airport. I suppose doing nothing would still allow the smaller planes like the FlyGTA Beechcrafts with 8 passengers to keep using YTZ.
I'm not sure what other use would be realistic for this type of land that is not easily developed (as pointed out earlier in this thread).
The images of that Northerly Island "park" that had been Meigs Field in Chicago have never made it look very useful to me, for anything other than wildlife.Chicago also had a downtown airport.......sorta on an island.
But its gone now, and a nature preserve is taking hold.
View attachment 269788
Northerly Island | Chicago Architecture Center
Unveiled as an eco-park in 2015, Northerly Island finally resembles the vision Daniel Burnham had for it in 1909. This artificial, but historically significant, spit of land was once used as an airport. Now it’s a refuge from the city’s bustle.www.architecture.org
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/3...ey-bulldozed-notherly-island-plane-march-2003
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rdaner
Senior Member
Crazy idea by Rdaner #73793:
Make the Island Airport Lands a Free Trade Zone. For example give a ten-year lease to organizations in a particular city that has ties/presense in Toronto such as Cork, Ireland. Temporary campus for the University of Cork and/or a pop-up art museum based there in one of the hangars. Perfect tie-in with what is happening at The Silos.
This would allow medium-term use/benefit while longer range planning is done and can be done with meanwhile zoning.
Make the Island Airport Lands a Free Trade Zone. For example give a ten-year lease to organizations in a particular city that has ties/presense in Toronto such as Cork, Ireland. Temporary campus for the University of Cork and/or a pop-up art museum based there in one of the hangars. Perfect tie-in with what is happening at The Silos.
This would allow medium-term use/benefit while longer range planning is done and can be done with meanwhile zoning.
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Northern Light
Superstar
Not happening.
milkycontent
Active Member
Hanlan's should be Toronto's car-free Granville Island, Provincetown, or Coney Island (minus the rides) with a fixed pedestrian link to the mainland. Use mass timber to build a mix of housing, small hotels, restaurants, shops, art galleries, and music venues with a row of bars and cafes, overlooking the western beach for the city's best sunset views. Should also include a skating rink, public pool and sports facilities like tennis and basketball courts in the summer, and hockey rinks in the colder months. A destination unto itself a gateway to the island park.
This space is one of Toronto's greatest assets and its potential is being wasted on an unnecessary and environmentally harmful airport. It would take a lot of money for infrastructure but creating a human scaled destination here would be a much better investment than extending a runway.
Maybe we could save a little room for a helipad.
This space is one of Toronto's greatest assets and its potential is being wasted on an unnecessary and environmentally harmful airport. It would take a lot of money for infrastructure but creating a human scaled destination here would be a much better investment than extending a runway.
Maybe we could save a little room for a helipad.
dowlingm
Senior Member
Given that Porter sold out of its direct interest in YTZ, where their competitors were in the past obliged to rent terminal space from them, and is now merely a customer of the current operator, it’s hardly surprising that it might claim to no longer need YTZ. There was a time when it defended its position there very vigorously.
At the same time, being able to shift at least some Q400 capacity to or from YTZ probably helps their negotiating position with GTAA. An outfit that has leant heavily on spin since day 1 should recognize its pronouncements are therefore taken with grains of salt.
At the same time, being able to shift at least some Q400 capacity to or from YTZ probably helps their negotiating position with GTAA. An outfit that has leant heavily on spin since day 1 should recognize its pronouncements are therefore taken with grains of salt.
lenaitch
Senior Member
That one point caught my eye. Ornge would need to find a home base somewhere. With Buttonville's closure, Pearson seems to be the only option but I don't know how much capacity it would have for effective rotary operations. It's more than just a paved pad.
Towered
Superstar
I absolutely love the vision you described. That's exactly what I'd like to see there. Make sure that vibrant main street also looks as cute and charming as possible (NO GREY). I'd go a step further and have it served by a historic trolley line with Peter Witt streetcars.
Naturally nobody at city hall will ever think of this.