Margaret Atwood joins other prominent Torontonians in opposing Porter expansion bid
A grassroots group has added a few big name backers in hopes of grounding Porter Airlines' jet dreams on the island.
Author Margaret Atwood and former Toronto city planner Paul Bedford are two of several supporters of the newly minted NOJetsTO, which is calling on council to vote against Tuesday’s motion for a feasibility study into Porter’s proposal to fly jet planes into Billy Bishop Airport.
“A decision to allow jets will profoundly and permanently damage our waterfront’s potential, in favour of a noisy and polluting industrial use,” says Monday’s NOJetsTO statement to council.
The group was formed in response to Porter’s proposal to use new “whisper jets” airplanes, currently banned from the island airport, and extend the runway by a third of a kilometre. An online petition supporting NOJetsTO’s statement had more than 1,000 signatures Monday afternoon.
Former mayor John Sewell and Ken Greenberg, a former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the city, have also signed their support against Porter jets.
“I’m not against the airport as it’s currently operating,” said Greenberg, who lives very close to the airport. “But I think it’s an issue of balance. It seems that the significant expansion of the runways and the introduction of more and more traffic is probably going over a tipping point.”