Unfinished Business

Another day, another airport post. I'm almost hoping they take a bulldozer to the runway today just so I can stop thinking about this. I've said my piece, but I keep seeing the same commentary popping up on other blogs / comments which I would classify not quaite as misinformation but a very selective perception of the situation.

To clear up my position: I voted for consolidation way back when (with my first municipal election vote!). In the intervening years my mind has changed about a lot of things - first and foremost sustainability. Considering the amount of slack space ready for development in downtown Edmonton, the long trip to the International (32km from City Centre), the existing infrastructure (transit, roads, etc...) I feel that the Edmonton City Centre Airport (CYXD) is well positioned to be the more sustainable option moving forward. CYXD is close to highways, rail links, buses (Greyhound, Red Arrow) and already serviced by transit. It is also accessible by almost all Edmontonians with or without personal vehicles (it is a minimum of $15 each way to access the International Airport, which could be considered a 'tax' on those of us without vehicles).

Anyways, in response to a Blog post by Duncan Kinney (Sustainability Nerd) I wrote the following:

I just want to address a couple points you bring up:

"I want the Edmonton City Centre Airport closed and the land redeveloped for people with an eye towards mixed use, mixed income, transit-oriented walkable development"
The first issue here is that we have 35ha of space ready for development in Downtown which is already 'mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented, walkable development'. No Demolition Required!

"with an emphasis on public over private space."

Which is exactly what you will not get with a development such as this. Developers will try to maximize up-front profit by selling high-density housing with few or no ancillary services or amenities. Look at Century Park - four condo buildings, gravel parking lot, services provided by the existing 23rd ave business strip. Developers don't build parks first (or at all) - parks don't make money - and if they're dropping $500M (the commonly referenced 'value' of the ECCA parcel) on the land they want that money back sooner rather than later.

"I believe that that is a better use of this tremendous resource rather than the continuation of a small, private, operation that chews up far too much valuable real estate close to Edmonton's core"

The City Centre airport is owned by the City (making it public land) and Administered by the Edmonton Airports Authority, a "community-based, financially independent, non-share corporation responsible for operating and developing four airports in the best interest of the Edmonton region" www.eccalandspublicinvolvement.ca/document/show/41. The City Centre Airport is still a public airport, with passenger flights provided by Northern Air, Empire Air, and others.

Nobody seems concerned that the Baccarat Casino is chewing up valuable land along 104 Avenue, or the Greyhound Parking lot across the street, or the entire area between Jasper Avenue and 104 Avenue from 106 to 107 Street. I wager that the land there is much more valuable because it is already serviced by Edmonton Transit, has all the connections for power, water, etc... and has the possibility to connect directly to an LRT station at Corona. It is also located in the core, not just close to it.

I am also posting this at my own blog (http://lesoteric.blogspot.com/) with additional commentary. Thanks for yours!

EDITS TO COME!