The great debate rages on whether Edmonton should close its downtown airport

I spent many years living in Edmonton in the 1970-80's. I was there when Wayne Gretzky walked on water and helped deliver the Stanley Cup year after year. I think it's a great city with a tradition of community spirit. There is one other big reason to like Edmonton - the downtown airport.

I have never been a fan of the Edmonton International Airport which is located so far south of the city, you may as well call it the Calgary International Airport. Its isolated location makes it very unattractive to the business community, for whom time is money. If you have meetings in downtown Edmonton, your trip in and out of the city can be in excess of an hour in rush hour.

That's why Edmonton's downtown airport is so great. Your plane lands, and you're only a few minutes away from your destination by foot or taxi. But there appears to be a growing movement in Edmonton to shut the airport down and force everyone to use the more isolated international airport - even for short haul flights that don't need this type of facility. I somehow doubt this campaign to shut the airport will succeed.

Vancouver has a similar downtown airport, but it comes in the form of Coal Harbour and the many float planes that call it home. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade, and it too has become the subject of some controversy. Some of the local condo dwellers who recently purchased there have complained of the noise the float planes make during take off and landing. But for the most part, the Coal Harbour airport is now a part of the Vancouver landscape and has in itself become a bit of a tourist attraction.

Some T.O. councillors are living in another universe, says Mang

Councillor Michael Walker has proven to be a vocal opponent of recent measures to make Toronto more bike-friendly. He is part of this odd, little cabal of Councillors who have manufactured the so-called “war on the car”. Councillors who pine for a 1950s Toronto; those halcyon days when the car was king, lawns were well-watered and sprinkled with pesticides and the Stepford Wives wore plastic smiles, starched aprons and fixed their salaryman husbands a post-work drink.

Walker’s latest dubious idea is for cyclists to be licensed.

Why license when education would be more effective? What would the administrative costs be? How would Toronto achieve this in light of the provincial Highway Traffic Act; that is, how enforceable would this be? Is this a symbolic gesture, aimed at showing displeasure with those tree-hugging hippy types who prefer the eco-friendly bicycle over the eco-mauling car?

Would, as CBC host Matt Galloway asks, licensing be so onerous that many would just not ride bikes? I bet Walker et al would like that, but one hopes that is not the intent of his motion. Indeed, why isn’t he fighting harder for safer cycling zones, dedicated lanes, looking to New York City as an example of what can be done when the political will is present?

False Creek Ferries are an excellent and affordable service that attracts tourists

Owners of False Creek Ferries (aka the Aquabus, as locals call it) must be wondering if Vancouver's Mayor hates them. This small business has thrived over the years moving people to and fro across False Creek harbour.

The ferry which crosses the exact route of Gregor's bridge brainstorm, Vanier Park to the Aquatic Centre at Sunset Beach, runs from 7:30am to 10pm daily, and leaves every five minutes. It is an incredibly reliable service, and a great Vancouver success story.

Isn't it ironic that a Mayor who got elected based upon his reputation built in small business has so much contempt for existing small enterprises here in Vancouver?

Even the city's top bicycle advocate, Arno Schortinghuis of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition said the bridge would be a “non-starter” with commuter cyclists:

“If you have to descend all the way to the seawall, it would be ridiculously difficult to get back up to Burrard Street, for instance,” he said. ““That would be unacceptable, I would suggest.”

Meanwhile, people commenting on CBC.ca, Globeandmail.com and Vancouversun.com are all having a field day with Gregor's attempt to "change the channel" from his gridlock plan. Here's a sampling below of some of the comments.

Who would blink first over the Burrard controversy? Apparently Mayor Robertson.

After July 13th, when you're sitting in Gregor's Gridlock, and you're contemplating whether to dial 311 to register your complaint with the Mayor over his Council's decision to reallocate a Burrard Bridge lane to cyclists, will it make you feel better to know that Hizonner is musing about building another bridge?

Apparently PR flacks in Mayor Robertson's office hope you will. Tonight they let slip that a "conversation" between the Mayor and architect Gregory Henriquez for a $45 million passerelle over False Creek. It would appear that Robertson has blinked in the face of building public dissatisfaction with his No Consultation Council™.

Just last Tuesday morning my CityCaucus.com colleague Daniel sat on the CKNW's Civic Affairs Panel, and got raked over the coals by Vision's Jim Green over NPA plans to spend $30 million on upgrading crumbling railings and surfaces on the 70-year old Burrard Bridge. This money is still in the City's budget, and it will be spent regardless of the political posturing by Vision.

The NPA proposed that the City eventually spend another $30 retrofitting the bridge to accommodate cyclists. No final design for this has been completed, but heritage advocates were not the slightest bit interested in any change to the old concrete railings.

So the NPA proposed spending $30 million for an improved cycling thoroughfare, and now Mayor Robertson is floating a proposal to spend $45 million?

Is this what the future of bus transportation will look like in Metro Vancouver if new sources of funding can't be found soon?

A broad-based coalition of mayors, environmentalists, business and union leaders held an ill-timed news conference on June 30th demanding more money be put on the table to help finance cash-strapped TransLink. The news conference was held in the afternoon just prior to Canada Day. As a result, it received almost no media attention. I'm not sure who is giving the coalition communication advice, but holding a news conference just hours before your nation's holiday will almost guarantee you will get no media pick up - let alone secure the cash you need to fund your plans.

Led by Surrey's popular Mayor Dianne Watts, the coalition says TransLink needs $450M in new funding now in order to keep the current transportation plan alive. That plan calls for a major expansion of rapid transit, bus and bikeways throughout the Metro Vancouver region. Without the dough, you can expect a number of these desperately needed projects will be shelved.

Here's what Watts had to say:

We must look at a range of funding mechanisms beyond existing revenue sources for funding. We convened this forum to check in with the views of business, environment and labour stakeholders. We heard that all three levels of government must get to the table in order to establish a Transportation Improvement Funding Policy that specifically addresses the movement of people, goods and services.

Fellow blogger and Langley Councillor Jordan Bateman made some very interesting observations about the meeting and the lack of emphasis on the carbon tax: