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<DIV>Hi GREN & Eleanor,</DIV>
<DIV>I went to the public input session as well. A few immediate thoughts that
popped into my mind...</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Bad timing</STRONG>! LRT success relies on engaging many, regular
& frequent users so it was hard for me to simultaneous think about promoting
fast & more convenient getaways. Also, the $ to be spent kept increasing in
my head to the extent that I wondered what would be left for me to pay my own
airfare. As an individual, for me, occasional transportation to Toronto is
cheaper than payments for expanding an airport.</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Size matters! </STRONG>When one changes size/ classification all
the rules & expectations change. I didn’t see or hear any cross comparison
of how all factors being equal we would be competitive in our new
classification & what new expenses we would have to increase above building
the expansion e.g. increased airport security – bigger facility bigger target!I.
</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Future trends! </STRONG>I see either more indifference or more
turbulence than smooth sailing! First how will online, global communication
influence the need to show up in person in the next generations? Will airlines
in the future be an expanding or contracting as a business? Will transportation
centre around moving cargo or people! Do we want our services brought to us or
do we still want to go there? Secondly, more severe & frequent weather
events make popular vacation spots less reliable, global terrorism makes threats
in unexpected places more frequent so I see the future as managing higher risk.
How much & where should we risk as a community seems to be the bigger
question for me. Finally, the population is aging. This could increase the go
& stay for as long as I can to keep my benefits of snowbird travel &
decrease the profits from continuity of regular back & forth trips.</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Health & well being! </STRONG>I sense that thinking is slowly
moving from unlimited growth to smart growth. Media seems to be exposing more of
the negative side effects of unlimited growth on happiness, safety, social
justice, the environment, health & well being impacted by air quality,
noise, access to healthy food, etc. etc. So, we need to carefully weight all the
impacts to the whole community. We are still in job recreating transition &
to keep the brightest & best we have to consider their families wanting to
live here as part of a success initiative. More children are being impacted by
issues around air quality, healthy food, safe places to play, etc.</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Aging </STRONG>At least aging infrastructure!!! The lessons from
roads is that if you build everything at the same time it will age at the same
time & human nature being what it is we wait till the last minute to fix it
and then say we have no money. This means we leap & patch until we crash. It
would be nice to see a chart of how much is already scheduled. Sometimes there
are benefits to moderate growth.</DIV>
<DIV>With gratitude for the opportunity to think out loud,</DIV>
<DIV>Sandra</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=eleanor7000@gmail.com
href="mailto:eleanor7000@gmail.com">Eleanor Grant</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 07, 2014 5:54 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=All@gren.ca href="mailto:All@gren.ca">GREN2</A> ; <A
title=eleanor7000@gmail.com href="mailto:eleanor7000@gmail.com">Eleanor
Grant</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [All] Airport survey</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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<P dir=ltr>Hi GREN All, </P>
<P dir=ltr>Yesterday I went to a public input session about expanding the
airport.</P>
<P dir=ltr>See <A
href="http://waterlooairport.ca/masterplan">waterlooairport.ca/masterplan</A>
.<BR>You can e-mail your comments from that page.</P>
<P dir=ltr>They are deciding among 4 options: status quo (room for a little
growth), low growth, medium growth, and high growth.</P>
<P dir=ltr>They had info sessions which claimed that once you get up to Option 3
- medium growth capacity - both noise and the cost to taxpayers will
decrease. Which seems counterintuitive.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Noise reduction is to be accomplished by having a longer runway and
locating it farther east. In this way the jets can take off at lower
power, and reach a higher altitude before flying over cities. (There was
more detail to this, that I didn't understand.)</P>
<P dir=ltr>Residents of Hespeler weren't offered any relief from those
Baffin-Island-bound cargo planes with loud engines that shatter their peace
early in the morning. And it seems, to me anyway, that a more easterly
runway might be noisier for Hespeler while being quieter for Kitchener.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Tax savings are expected with Option 3 by reaching the critical
capacity of a million passengers per year. Increased revenues would be
enough to pay for both operating costs and the debt servicing on the additional
$50 M that would have to be borrowed - according to the project team.</P>
<P dir=ltr>I brought up the question of greenhouse gas emissions, and was told
it wouldn't be any worse than having all those people drive their cars to catch
a plane in Toronto, "if they're going to fly anyway". </P>
<P dir=ltr>I've also been asking around about a GO train stop at Breslau.
Apparently this was shelved as Kitchener got a stripped model of GO
service. But at the same time, building unlimited parking on green field
doesn't bother anyone. BTW, Option 3 also involves building a grade
separation where Shantz Stn Rd crosses the tracks.</P>
<P dir=ltr>I'm baffled because they're preaching the right gospel on rapid
transit and downtown intensification, yet the same mentality doesn't extend to
other forms of transportation such as Hwy 7 and the airport. Saving
farmland drops off the radar.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Different forms of transport don't talk to one another! Last
night I went to hear Sue Zielinski at the School of Architecture, and this is
just what she talks about: A whole transportation solution instead of
separate silos.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Most telling I thought, was the statement that our airport is getting
only a small percentage of flights now being made by residents within our
35-km-radius catchment area, and they want to get that number up. Even if
the principles are opposite to those used to promote the LRT.</P>
<P dir=ltr>My rant. I'd be interested in hearing what you all think.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Eleanor</P>
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