Mayoral candidate Penalosa backtracks on turning island airport into large park
Posted October 21, 2022 5:38 pm.
Toronto mayoral candidate Gil Penalosa is backtracking on his proposal to turn Toronto’s downtown island airport into a huge park, saying he’s heard from people “loud and clear” to consider all options.
A week ago, the man widely seen as John Tory’s biggest challenger in the upcoming municipal election said he would replace Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport with a 215-acre park should he win the vote on Oct. 24.
Penalosa’s plan for the large green space would include accessibility on foot through an existing tunnel that currently connects the airport to the mainland, saying Torontonians need “a free, direct connection from the waterfront.”
On Friday, Penalosa said he heard from people who asked him to “slow down on this” and to consult and consider all options, “and I have agreed.”
“Last week, I put out a proposal to turn the Island Airport into a new park that would connect the waterfront to our beautiful islands. This would happen when the lease agreement with Porter ends in 2033. But I have heard loud and clear that you want to continue the conversation about the best option for this important site,” read a statement released by Penalosa.
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Penalosa reiterated that even though the existing lease for the airport doesn’t expire for at least another decade, it was important to start the conversation now about the future of the site.
“We all know what happens when politicians don’t plan for the future,” he wrote.
Penalosa added he is concerned that if Porter continues to shift operations to Pearson and doesn’t renew its lease, the land would be increasingly used by a “small group of very wealthy people for private planes” or, worse, become underutilized and fall into disuse and disrepair.
Mayor John Tory previously told 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.
Billy Bishop is the ninth busiest airport in Canada and served 2.8 million passengers in 2019.
