Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 29 Mar 1972, p. 7

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J 2 ) CEOS LSE EN AE ANSWERS TO OFTEN ASKED QUESTIONS 3 Surprised (and in some cases, disturbed) by the news that Toronto's second international airport will be located in Pickering Township, residents and property owners there have understandably raised many questions about the choice. Here are some of the most frequently asked ques- tions--and the answers provincial and federal au- thorities are providing: ? Is there any chance of the authorities changing their minds about the Pickering site? Realistically, no. Both the federal and provincial ~governments are convinced that, all things consid- ered (see story, p. 2), the Pickering site is the best possible location. It is quite possible that a few indi- vidual property owners will manage to show that their lands are not among those that must be ac- quired for the airport or its associated develop- ments. But the decision is based on three years of investigation and analysis. Eighty-nine sites were originally considered. Fifty-nine of these were ex- amined in critical detail. Twelve were studied at even greater depth, and six of them were examined exhaustively. From these, Pickering finally emerged as the best all-round choice. Thus it is simply not re- alistic for anyone to document a case for a different site that would help serve the needs of the 23 million ~_air travellers expected to be using Toronto-area.air-. & "ports by 1985. 3 Why all the secrecy? Why weren't the municipali- ties consulted before the decision was made? In the early stages of the search for a site, con- sultation would have involved some 200 municipali- ties. The likely result would have been wild specula- tion in land prices throughout a 50-mile radius of To- ronto. Apart from the effect this would have had on land owners and buyers everywhere in the region, such inflation would have made the ultimate site ex- tremely costly to acquire. If prices in Pickering had jumped by, say, $1,000 an acre, the federal and pro- vincial governments would have had to pay an extra "$43 million to acquire the land they need--surely an "extravagance for taxpayers. Even consulting munici- o, Palities about the half dozen sites that were finally considered would have had a similar effect, and by then the "secret" would have been a farce. One mu- nicipal leader, in fact, later described the Pickering decision as "'the best-kept secret in years". ? Why didn't the provincial government do more planning in Cedarwood and the service lands before announcing the site? The province's Toronto-Centred Region team has made some basic coiiceptual changes to proposed communities and transportation corridors east of Toronto as a result of the decision. The Community Planning Branch is already at work consulting local authorities on such questions as the zoning needed to control the uses of land around the airport site. But such consultation was impossible before the announcement was made, for reasons of secrecy (see above) and also because a number of decisions yet 'to be made, such as the ex- act locations of the runways and the terminal, will influence the shape of Cedarwood and its service fa- cilities. Now the provincial government is not only willing but anxious to provide the municipalities with all the help they need in drawing up appropri- ate bylaws governing zoning and other planning. ' If the Ontario government takes over lands now taxed as private properties, won't the municipalities lose large amounts of revenue? No.- At the moment, the province is weighing sev- eral alternate methods of providing the municipali- ties with the equivalent revenue. One way would be outright payment of grants equal to the taxes that private owners would have paid. Another way would. be to set up a crown corporation that would pay tax- és just as any private owner would. Whatever meth- od is arrived at, municipal leaders needn't worry about any loss of revenue; certainly they can go ahead with complete confidence on their budgeting for 1972. ? Instead of building a new airport in Pickering, -.why not expand Malton Airport? The area around Malton is built up too much to permit any significant amount of additional expan- sion. The second international airport at Pickering is an essential part of the plan for the air transporta- tion system southern Ontario needs (see story p. 6). At the same time, the new site provides an opportu- nity to avoid some of the problems Malton has faced. : What impact will the new airport have on towns such as Markham, Soutivive, Richmond Hill, Ajax ~~ and Oshawa? Adjustments to runway alignments will protect both Markham and Stouffville from aircraft noise levels that might bother existing communities. Resi- dents of more distant towns, such as Richmond Hill, will be conscious of planes overhead, but no more so than the people of, say, Toronto are when planes are over the city. Nor will Ajax, Oshawa or other communities to the south experience any noticeable noise. On the other hand, a few villages right at the site, such as Brougham, will be included 'in.the land purchased for the airport. Except for those villages in and around the site, communities in the general vicinity will enjoy an ac- celeration of the development they hoped for and ex- pected in the immediate years ahead. ? To what extent is the province committed to pro- viding highways and other services? The Ontario government intends to build Highway 407 as an east-west route, several miles north of the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway (401) and parallel to it. Highway 407 will serve the entire urbanized, eastern part of the Toronto-Centred Region. The province also intends to build another freeway running north- east from Toronto. This highway may be started earlier than originally intended, because of the deci- sion to locate the airport in the northeast. New rapid-transit lines to serve new urban centres in the area northeast of the city will be con- structed. One of these lines would run through Ce- darwood, serving the airport and extending to other towns further east. Meanwhile, the province will make sure that Ce- darwood and other surrounding communities are bounded by parklands and other open spaces, not only to provide residents with some pleasant coun- tryside nearby, but to provide land for transporta- tion and other services. 2 Won't the airport or its planes disturb the new Metro Toronto zoo? No. The zoo site is completely clear of the noise- lands and is not along any of the projected flight - paths. Hana pe kta ia VRS A, Supplement -- Page 3 CEDARWOOD The concept of a new community What sense does it make to huild a community of 150,000 to 200,000 close to the site of a new airport? Not much -- in the opin- ion of some citizens who have formed hasty opinions about Cedarwood, the com- munity the Ontario govern- Ov ment plans to develop south of Highway 7. But closer examination shows that the idea actual- ly makes a great deal of sense. Here's the logic behind it: eo The chosen area, in Pickering and Markham townships, is well out of the zone that will be dis- turbed by aircraft-or air- port noise. e A service corridor, probably including the pro- posed Highway 407, will pass between the airport . and Cedarwood, providing a buffer. o -An additional buffer for the residential part of Ce- darwood will be provided by an industrial-commer- cial area -- largely plants, offices and other commer- cial establishments asso- ciated with the airport and its facilities. e If Cedarwood were not already scheduled for the drawing boards, somebody would have to invent it any- way. Like any other large airport anywhere, Picker- ing will employ several thousand people -- as em- ployees of the terminal, the airlines; ground transporta- tion companies, on-site res- taurants and many other services. These workers and their families -- and those who serve them as retailers, tradesmen and professional people -- will want to live within easy reach of the airport. Cedarwood, with housing to meet the needs of people with a wide range of tastes and income levels, is to be designed with such condi- tions in mind. Its first phase is expect- ed to be completed about the time the new airport opens -- in 1978 or 1979. Further development of the new city. will continue for 10 to 15 years after that, until its population. num- bers 150,000 to 200,000. New services for the Pickering area Ontario Treasurer Darcy McKeough, the minister planning of services for the proposed Cedarwood-air- port complex, has promised that the new development "will be serviced with a full range of facilities." In several recent state- ments, McKeough has rei- terated that a complete network of highways, mass transit, water, sewer, elec- tricity and recreational fa- cilities will be developed _}... largely. responsible-for-the-- the date when the Picker- ing area will be connected the Central York Servicing Scheme. The airport com- plex may also require a sub regional water supply sys- tem and operating .authori- ty. No major technical problems are anticipated. The Hydro-Electric Pow- er Commission reports that it is considering what addi- tional resources will be needed to service the area. for the Pickering-area; ooo One of the stated advan- tages to the Pickering air- port location is that it will take full advantage of ser- vices already proposed for the area. It should also lead to earlier completion dates for these services.' The provincial govern- ment has been considering construction of a new ma- jor east-west freeway, re- ferred to as highway 407, for a number of years. Also under investigation has been the need for a north- south freeway identified usually as the East Metro Freeway, that would link 401 and 407. Previous to the selection of the new airport site, both these projects were considered to be at least ten years away. Now, ac- cording to the Department of Transportation and Com- munications, the: planning is being intensified. At least part of the system will be required to service the Cedarwood-airport com- plex by the time it opens. Rapid transit is also an- ticipated and forms a very significant part of the To- ronto-Centred Region plan. Planning officials believe that this system must even- tually link Malton, Down- town Toronto, the new air- port and Oshawa/Whitby. The exact nature of the system has yet to be deter- ~ mined. The new airport complex will likely move forward + \ né 22 Toronto Island airport to be a STOL-Port? Development of Toron- to's second international airport in Pickering Town- ship seems likely to make the city's island airport an- important centre for a coming form of aviation technology -- the short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. The island location was once touted as a possible site for the major airport Toronto will need within the next decade. But now, with Pickering selected to fill that need, the island is being considered for a more special role in the pattern of southern Ontar- io's aviation development. The joint federal-provin- cial statement announcing the Pickering Township site said the two governments have agreed to give "seri- ous consideration" to the idea of using Toronto Island Airport for STOL aircraft "as this technology devel- ops'. STOL aircraft are ex- pected to become impor- tant for short flights (such as 100 miles or less) where large conventional aircraft and the long runways they: need would make flying un- economic or impractical. with-the-sewer services of ~~ AAA Me

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