Toronto: city of pride, city of hope, city of the future. Or…
Toronto: city of traffic, city of noise, city of drug addled politicians. You
can have one or the other my fellow citizens. For the latter, vote status quo.
For the former, vote RICK!
How will I accomplish the former vision of our city while avoiding the latter? Well,
this is the first of several policy papers I will be releasing. In these, I
shall define the problems, give my first impressions and these shall be
followed by an actual point-by-point agenda. Stick with me, folks!
First off, and I know its winter but what better time to
think about…
THE WATERFRONT
Having lived literally in the harbour for pretty much
all of my natural life, I can tell you one thing. You only have to view a city
(that has a waterfront) from the shore up to really see what is going on.
Development can take many routes while affecting a city’s growth. From a helter-skelter, ‘whatever’
approach like Detroit, to a beautifully designed and functional city like
Copenhagen; the devil, as they say, lies in the details. I may have my foot in
the sand but my head is well clear of it. Having said that, even the worst of
cities looks better from the water. Imagine what ours could be like! It isn’t
too late!
It isn’t enough simply to bemoan
the lack of foresight that has turned a great deal of our waterfront legacy
into row upon row of hideously ugly condominiums that basically shut out the
people who live in the city from the water. Further dammed by the natural
divide of a cross-town, raised highway. Even from 40 feet down things can look
pretty gruesome.
Is it beyond hope? Will the
powerful and seemingly almighty dollar prevail in our dreams for a better Toronto?
Rick the Clam says NO!
First of all, waterfront
development should include all the stakeholders. Yes, developers can
take part, but the predominant concern should be the will and happiness of the
people. If it is determined (as I suspect it would) that there should be no
more mega-complex development on the water, then that’s the way it will be
under a Rick mandate. And that determination must be made by our best and greatest
minds. I must, in all humility, state that I am not a 'great mind' but John and Ken know tons of them. Next week I'm having a brain-storming session with all of the major urban planners in the country. At my expense.
Now, the Island Airport… from
what I understand, and from what Nigel has told me in briefing notes, it is a
small, but useful airport that has seen new life in the past few years with more flights and soon,
greater access for commuters who wish to avoid the long trip to and greater
wait times at the larger Pearson Airport. That sounds great! But, apparently, the
airlines that use it, notably Porter, are now trying to expand this concept to
include jets. Well, Rick says NO to this. And here’s why.
When the first planes of any size
flew into Billy Bishop airport, we who live under the waves thought that the apocalypse
was upon us. Things rattled, we spilled our coffee and the baby molluscs all started
crying. Over the course of time we got used to it mostly, but now the thought
of jets screaming overhead is alarming at best. They are trying to call them
Whisper Jets. Well, show me a jet engine that doesn’t make a lot of noise and I’ll
show you a jet engine that’s broken. The waterfront is for the people who live
and play at it, more pollution both of the air and noise variety is neither
welcome nor necessary. Plus, the runways would have to be expanded to accommodate
the new aircraft.
I’m sure that if Billy Bishop was
around today he would have shot down that idea as quickly as the 72 German
planes he shot down in WW1. (Apologies to any German voters, you guys did okay,
too.)
And, as a sidebar, the fact that
Porter Airlines went ahead with purchasing plans on the new jets before Council
had even voted on it speaks poorly for them. And they were doing so well as far
as the public perceived them. With their nice waiting rooms, coffee and free
in-flight wine. Sometimes, even as a business, you just have to be satisfied
with what you’ve got.
These are what I am against. What am I going to do about it?
Stay tuned.
