Pickering Airport Update - May 2005

airport

The Draft master plan for the Pickering Airport has now been released.  Copies of the plan can be obtained from either the GTAA office in Brougham or the GTAA website.

After the plan was released there were several public information sessions held to give people a chance to voice their concerns.  The project has now moved into the environmental assessment phase, which should take several years.  The federal government will then decide whether or not to proceed with the building of the airport.

The current projection for opening is still 2012.  At that time the Buttonville, Markham and Oshawa Airports will be closed and most traffic relocated to Pickering.  Pickering is expected to start offloading from Pearson in 2022.  Pickering may also pick up some traffic from the Hamilton, and City Centre Airports.  Pickering is not expected to handle passenger flights until 2022.

The current plan calls for three runways situated midway between the oak ridges moraine and the Southern limits of the Pickering Airport lands.  The two main runways run in an east/west direction while the cross winds runway runs North West from the end of the northern primary runway without intersecting it.  This design was chosen from many designs based on airspace, noise, earthworks and drainage, land use, capacity and taxi distance as they related to the environment, social and economic impacts of the runway siting.  As the environmental assessment moves forward the runway design may be altered as new issues are identified.

The airport will have all facilities required to support the planned aviation services including de-icing facilities, control towers, groundside parking and parking garages, aircraft maintenance facilities, cargo areas in addition to runways already referred to.  At some point there will be a large passenger terminal large enough for up to 40 gates however this terminal will not be built for the 2012 opening.  The overall design plan also includes space for additional expansion.

The report gives an overview of all of the airport access issues and the various initiatives under way that may or may not come to fruition such as 407 improvements, the Markham by-pass southerly extension and possible new rapid transit access.  The bottom line with this issue is that the GTAA operates at arms length from the federal government while the transportation issues are municipal, regional and provincial.  The GTAA can voice concerns around which solutions would best fill the needs but they have no real voice in the actual outcome.

The building of a new airport in Pickering also implies that other utilities servicing the area will require upgrading.  The report mentions the following upgrades as required, sewage, water, storm drainage, natural gas and aviation fuel services, and electrical services.  If the region cannot extend their services in time for opening day then the GTAA will consider interim onsite solutions for both water and sewage.  The cost for most of the service extensions is not quoted in the report however the new pipeline for natural gas and aviation fuel is quoted as either 10 million or 40 million depending on the chosen solution.

If the federal government decides to go ahead with the airport then the projected opening would be 2012.  At that time there would only be two runways and facilities to support the general aviation traffic being offloaded from Buttonville, Oshawa and Markham.  Immediately after, they would be expanding until 2032 at which time the airport is expected to reach its final configuration.

For additional information, we encourage you to visit the GTAA website at www.gtaa.com or the regional office in Brougham at the corner of Brock Road and Highway 7.



Other Information, History, and Links

During meetings held to present the plan and various town halls, it is apparent that there is considerable opposition to this project.  Other than the prospects of more employment in the Durham area due to an airport, the residents and their councillors largely oppose the project.  There are a few different levels of opinion for a new airport in Pickering.  They range from wanting no airport at all, to believing that the plans are still premature (no more need for another airport now than 30 years ago - should wait longer), to a regional reliever airport replacing small plane traffic from Buttonville and Oshawa might be fine.

The GTAA believes they have the business case to justify the project and believes the demand will be there when the project expands by 2032.  Both Buttonville and Oshawa have little room for growth and are somewhat controlled and supported by the GTAA so traffic diversion from these airports is the starting point for their justification for 2012.  The Markham Airport, however, is a privately owned airport and will close when this project proceeds "due to airspace conflicts" according to the GTAA.

For previous information on the airport, please see our article from 2002.

Other Links:

As always, the material found on any of these pages is the sole property of its originator, and as such the AWCA is not responsible for their content.  We post them to direct you to more information on this topic, including the sites in opposition to the airport development.

They often have future meeting dates posted where you can attend and hear or voice your concerns.  They also try to raise awareness of some opposing facts (other aviation forecasts, for example) or opinions.

More information can be found at:

Sites opposing airport development can be found at: