Airport expansion encounters turbulence
The Whig Standard
Local News - Friday, March 09, 2007 Updated @ 10:58:27 PM
By Jennifer Pritchett
Whig Standard Staff Writer
Plans to expand Kingston’s airport aren’t getting off the ground without some opposition from local residents.
Last night, city politicians accepted a draft copy of a 20-year development plan for the airport, but not before they heard from the public’s concerns about possible changes to the west-end municipal property.
The 275-hectare swath of land just north of Front Road borders Lemoine Point, a popular conservation area, to the west and is neighboured by residential areas to the north and south.
Many residents are concerned about noise from increased air traffic that is expected to come with an expansion. Others are concerned about the impact of the changes on the conservation area.
But the owner of a marina north of the airport has a very specific concern: the removal of a crane he needs to operate his business.
Last night, Hub Steenbakkers, who runs the Collins Bay Marina, told the environment, infrastructure and transportation policies committee that he’s most concerned about the proposed lengthening of the main runway at the airport from 5,000 feet to 6,500 feet.
“It has the potential to drive future [marina] customers away from the area,” he said.
Though Steenbakkers said his intention wasn’t to stop the airport expansion altogether, he said he would like the city to consider the impact of lengthening the runway on his family-run business.
The problem is that if the runway is expanded to 6,500 feet as proposed, a crane on his property that’s used to lift boats in and out of the water would have to be moved, according to the report.
“This proposal is simply not in the best interest of the community,” he told the committee.
Under the draft plan, the crane would have to be removed if the runway was expanded because it would be considered within the air space for planes landing and taking off at the airport.
Collins Bay resident Chris Hargreaves feels as if the city isn’t paying enough attention to the people who will be most impacted.
“They’re ignoring the people who live around it,” he said.
Though there have been several public meetings on the expansion since last summer, he said residents should have more input into the process. He’s worried about the impact of a longer runway and what that will mean in terms of noise and lighting for neighbours of the airport.
The draft plan for the airport was developed by consultants who work for Marshall Macklin Monaghan Ltd. Representatives from the firm made a lengthy presentation to council last night about the proposed changes.
In the coming weeks, city staff will continue working on a final draft of the plan before it’s brought back to the environment, infrastructure and transportation policies committee for recommendation to council.
Last night, Mark Segsworth, commissioner of public works and emergency services, said he was unable to estimate how long it would take before a final plan would be brought back to city politicians for approval.
“Let us work with our neighbours … ideally, the objective is to reach a collective support [for the plan],” he said. “The city recognizes there are some unresolved issues.”
Members of the committee include councillors Leonore Foster, Vicki Schmolka, Sara Meers, Ed Smith and Rob Hutchison, who was absent last night. Though she’s not a voting member of the committee, Councillor Dorothy Hector, in whose district the airport is located, attended last night’s meeting.