Mayoral candidate Penalosa wants to turn Toronto’s Island Airport into park

The man widely seen as incumbent mayor John Tory’s biggest challenger in the upcoming municipal election is proposing a radical change to Toronto’s downtown island airport.

Mayoral candidate and urban planner Gil Penalosa says he plans to replace the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport with a 215-acre park should he win the vote on Oct. 24.

“We will reduce emissions and increase access to nature with a green space one-third the size of Central Park,” said Penalosa in a statement. “Torontonians are tired of waiting in long lines for a ferry to get to the islands, and it’s time we gave everyone a free, direct connection from the waterfront.”

Penalosa says his plan for the large green space would include accessibility on foot through an existing tunnel that currently connects the airport to the mainland.

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“The Greater Toronto Area has the fastest growing urban population in industrialized nations,” he says. “We will grow to 7.5 million from 5 million over the next 25 years and will need more green spaces.”

The candidate says the city’s existing lease for the airport is set to end in 2033, and the upcoming term of city council will need to make “crucial decisions on what comes next.”

Mayor John Tory tells CityNews he has no intention of opening up a discussion about the status of the airport if re-elected, adding there’s been no indication from the provincial or federal governments to do the same.

“The Mayor believes a growing city like Toronto that is a beacon at home and around the world for business and opportunity has been helped tremendously by having the downtown airport,” said a spokesperson for his re-election campaign. “We need airport capacity and it generates a tremendous amount of economic value.”

Billy Bishop is the ninth busiest airport in Canada and served 2.8 million passengers in 2019.

Citing the Ford government’s desire to transform Ontario Place from a park to an entertainment facility, Penalosa says he doesn’t want to see other large city spaces go down the same path.

“Gil will work with the federal government to protect the Island Airport lands from the same fate and develop a shared vision of their green future,” says a spokesperson for Penalosa’s campaign.

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• Online campaign examines state of Toronto infrastructure amid calls for better public spaces

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April Engelberg, a City Council candidate for Spadina-Fort York, has been advocating for a pedestrian lift bridge that would connect the city to the Toronto Islands.

Tory responded by saying it was an idea worth thinking about and should be considered moving forward. The proposed bridge would span the 250-metre Eastern Channel to connect the Port Lands to Ward’s Island.

Yesterday marked the first of two mayoral debates that Tory has agreed to take part. Penalosa made a point of bringing up crumbling infrastructure while taking direct aim at the two-term mayor.

“Maybe it’s time that we have a mayor that actually walks or takes public transit or uses public parks as a normal part of their leisurely life,” Penalosa argued during Thursday’s debate.

Penalosa has also proposed a Green Loop urban trail network plan, which would aim to connect 100 kilometres of existing ravines, hydro corridors, and parks within the city.

Advanced voting ahead of the Oct. 24 election ends on Friday. Information on how you can vote early is here.