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page 2 the tribune thuraday march 9 1b72 w eirttimt j- established 1888 chable8 h nolan publisher james thomas auoctste publish editor bobebt mccausland advertising manager published every thursday by inland publishing co limited at 54 main st stouffville ont tel 6102101 single copies 15c subscriptions 600 per year in canada 1000 elsewhere membsr of audit bureau of circulation canadian weekly newspapers association and ontario weekly newspapers association second class mail registration number 0896 editorial selected airport site is final the announced site of the long- anticipated airport is final the location on 18000 acres in pickering township will not be altered not one mile not one inch and affected residents despite some understandable concern even anxiety should resign themselves to this fact a statement by queens park released to the tribune through m p p wm hodgson yorknorth indicates very clearly the provincial governments stand it reads provincial government officials will meet with people who live in and around the airport site and will do everything possible to take their needs into account however the governments first responsibility is to serve the in terests of the province as a whole this the government intends to do public hearings will be arranged for people whose land is to be acquired by public agencies there will be ample op portunity for these people to voice their concerns and have their wishes con sidered again however another public whose interests must be con sidered are the travellers who will use the airport and need safe convenient access to it nothing could be clearer the government through im plementation of its airport plan will deal with problems that its decision has created but the solution in our opinion will not be found by moving the site from one municipality into another or from one riding into another for this reason we feel mpp bill newman is only whistling in the wind by lending verbal support to any protest movement calling for a shift in locations a similar hue and cry would occur in uxbridge in scott in georgina the truth is no one wanted it but pickerings got it and theyll have to make the best of it we feel it would be to mr newmans advantage and to the advantage of the affected constituents he represents to work towards a satisfactory financial settlement either through a reduced tax scheme for those on the fringe or an acceptable sale price for those in the centre now is not the time for wailing and gnashing of teeth its a time to face up to reality noise our most pressing problem with runways only three miles distant the nuisance of noise will be stouffvilles most pressing problem with respect to the proposed international airport in neighboring pickering township while according to authorities the takeoff strips will be so designed as to reduce the noise level over town both john roberts and bill hodgson federal and provincial members yorknorth honestly admit that with the site so close there is no positive solution like gravel trucks and train whistles its something well have to learn to live with we would suggest however that as soon as town council has had sufficient time to assess all aspects of the project that a meeting be arranged with govern ment officials to learn just what impact the overall plan will have on this municipality right now residents have adopted a wait and see attitude this however should not be the policy of council for the magnitude of the project is too massive too all- encompassing to simply proceed on its own without firsthand knowledge of what the future has in store with proper planning the airport could indeed prove a benefit to whitchurch stouffville this should be councils goal and the time to establish priorities is now strikers versus the public its a safe bet that saturday night several million canadians including several thousand in stouffville longed to be able to push a button that would have fired all the cbc technicians who were denying them one of the highlights of their weekend pleasure nhl hockey it is no surprise that the government is already studying new legislation which will curb unions from upsetting national services such as communications transportation and others the situation has become ridiculous when a handful of workers can interfere with the public all across the country and such actions should cease to be tolerated these workers are striking against the canadian people not some private company it is interesting to note that canada has now attained the worst record for strikes of any western nation the ire of the people is rising and the support of the vast majority is assured behind any government that will in troduce legislation to squelch such ac tions as we had saturday its regrettable that in every aspect of these conflicts it is john public who pays the shot he suffers all the hardships and interference of having his services break down and in the end he pays the higher wages the union forces out of the government as well as the inflation which the action has caused in other services editar mail dear sir your editorial of february 3rd has come to my attention and i appreciate that you are entitled to express your opposing viewpoint on our application to remove the agent and close the station in stouffville i suggest you might have added for the information of your readers that the agent is left without meaningful work that commercial interest will be better served through our servocentre concept and that the railway has no intention whatsoever of leaving passengers at stouffville without adequate shelter but i submit that its a bit much when you state categorically it is a known fact that from the very start the c n r was an unwilling partner in the stouff- villetoronto commuter program we at cn know of no such fact and notwithstanding whatever fact you obtained from sources other than cn i suggest you measure that fact against our inauguration of the service with enthusiasm advertising and improved equipment visavis the former oneway run to markham in other words i think it is both misleading and unfair of your editorial writer to distort cns position in the matter of suburban rail passenger ser vice my colleagues and i strongly object to this misrepresentation our senior officers have repeatedly stated publicly cns view that rail passenger service in commuter areas and on intercity runs may very well prove their economic worth to com munities and to governments at the provincial and federal levels however there is no known way in which the operators can make such runs viable without subsidies from the social sector or sectors which benefit from the service and i appreciate that you are fully capable of rationalizing the rail passenger position in relation to sub sidization granted to highway and airway carriers let me again emphasize cn is indeed willing to become a prtner in rail passenger commuter prof rams thats a fact john c no i manager musselmans lake goodwood bloomington ingwood tmc m steuffvilleif- dicksons trh felli altona r- feu airport site 1 rttl v i claremont viii n ll a i r-i- lit tfe m ll s8jj a green river vi brougham j questions some answers there are many questions concerning the proposed airport site in pickering township some of these follow with answers as provided by ontario government why was this site chosen the selection of any airport site in canada rests primarily with the federal ministry of transport and is based on flying characteristics safety con siderations and convenience to the area to be served at the same time the on tario government wanted a location to fit well with its plan for the torontocentred region numerous alternatives were considered and the pickering township site was chosen because it is an excellent site consistent with safety and other aeronautical con siderations of all the proposed sites it is closest tc toronto and therefore provides the easiest accessibility it is close enough to lake ontario and to several transportation routes so as to keep service costs water sewerage roads at reasonable levels lower in fact than they would be at any other sites considered no major communities will be seriously affected by expropriation or by noise from the airport what impact will the new airport have on towns such as markham stouffville richmond hill ajax and oshawa adjustments to runway alignments will protect both markham and stouffville from aircraft noise levels that might bother existing communities residents of more distant towns such as richmond hill will be conscious of planes overhead but no more so than the people of say toronto are when planes are over the city nor will ajax oshawa or other communities to the south experience any noticeable noise on the other hand a few villages right at the site such as brougham will be included in the land purchased for the airport except for those villages in and around the site communities in the general vicinity will enjoy an acceleration of the development they hoped for and expected in the immediate years ahead what about the people who own land in the area apart from the federal governments purchase of the land for the airport itself the provincial government considers it essential to buy up all the lands needed to create an efficient attractive and fully integrated community in the area to prevent costly inflation of land prices in the area the government intends to acquire all the land which in the long run will benefit both the new community itself and the people of ontario as a whole to what extent is the province committed to providing highways and other ser vices the ontario government intends to build highway 407 as a eastwest route several miles north of the macdonald- cartier freeway 401 and parallel to it highway 407 will serve the entire ur banized eastern part of the toronto- centred region the province also in tends to build another freeway running northeast from toronto this highway may be started earlier than originally intended because of the decision to locate the airport in the northeast new rapidtransit lines to serve new urban centres in the area northeast of the city will be constructed one of these lines would run through cedarwood serving the airport and extending to other towns further east meanwhile the province would make sure that cedarwood and other surrounding communities are bounded by parklands and other open spaces not only to provide residents with some pleasant countryside nearby but to provide land for transportation and other services how much will the whole development cost only the federal government can reveal the likely cost of the airport itself as for surrounding developments the ontario government has not yet arrived at complete estimates land acquisitions costs are likely to amount to about 70 million development of the new com munity and services water sewerage access roads will cost several hundred million additional dollars these costs are not to be burdens for taxpayers however much of the development will be financed by private capital will cedarwood be developed by the government this has yet to be decided probably the province will decide to work in part nership with private developers whatever course is chosen the province will play a significant role will cedarwood feature lowcost housing while a new town like this presents an unusual opportunity to help ease the housing situation for lowincome families it does not make sense for any city of this size to be made up entirely of any one kind of housing a variety of housing is necessary but the government would certiinly like to see a substantial number of dwellings priced at amounts that people of the area can afford the ontario government believes that if it is well managed cedarwood can achieve housing prices much better than those now prevailing on the market has a plan been designed for cedarwood no studies have indicated the best locations for major elements such as industrial and commercial areas near the airport considerably more work is needed yet to produce a detailed plan how big will cedarwood be the townsite is about 15000 acres predictions of the ultimate population are difficult but a likely range is 150000 to 200000 wont cedarwood be bothered by airport noise no the main runways lie eastwest well north of the town an industrial- commercial zone and a service corridor including a highway will provide a buffer between the airport and towns residential districts what is the timing of the project the federal government has said it hopes to have the airport operating by 1978 or early 1979 the provincial government has set the same target date for the first phase of the surrounding development however the development is expected to take 10 or 15 years beyond that when was this location decided having heard monfhs ago or even years ago that discussions about the site were going on some people may have concluded that the decision was made torn between two choices by jim thomas an international airport good or bad thats what folks keep asking me and undoubtedly keep asking themselves but unfortunately there is no answer at least no stock answer for it depends on the position in life of the individual and the location of his property i toured the site saturday so did hundreds of other people curiously at- tracted by the flood of news reports coming out of the area but who will benefit from this massive government land grab many farmers will particularly those nearing an age of retirement and already caught in the grip of a municipal tax mess on one hand and low produce prices on the other a few speculators will particularly those with sufficient foresight to have acquired acreage at bargain rates who will be hurt by the airport project the homeowner will particularly the chap whose only ambition was to enjoy a little piece of country quietness the fringe residents will those families whose properties are just beyond the requirements of the airport site but still within the highlevel nuisance of noise but what is my personal opinion of the plan actually im torn between two loves an intense desire to retain the country- type atmosphere that stouffville has always known and an excitement of living in a community that could some day become a crossroads to the world theres no denying the fact that to 4 bury productive farmlands estatetype homes and even whole communities under great spaghetti strips of asphalt pd ncrete is on the surface at least lforgiveable sin however the t to gain this end can be and often i ore revolting still its a thing called expropriation a practice that stirs feelings of contempt within the most docile of minds its simply like it or lump it no more no less few like it as for stouffville itself the direct i benefits seem minimal well be located on the tail end of the project with the main growth area extending from no 7 hwy south while we may possibly gain a motel or two these advantages will be more than offset by jet noise and in creased traffic at this stage for me at least id like to see the town and the area around it stay the way it is but then on the positive side theres something about aeroplanes and airports that intrigue me as a kid the spitfire of world war ii was the greatest thing going even out- gunning barbara ann scott for picture space on my bedroom wall later came the wellington the lancaster the lightning and the mosquito i knew them all more than thirty years have since passed but ive never lost interest in the speed the power and the beauty of these a handcrafted metallic birds i could stand for hours on the observation deck at malton or just sit and watch the world go by from the waiting room or restaurant to merely rub elbows with a pilot or a passenger from another country or continent holds some kind of personal thrill if thats whats in store for stouffville then the alternative to peace and quiet may not be so repulsive after all my wife warns however that if my selectivity of airport scenes is no more accurate than my choice of airport sites then the stewardess styles of 1979 will have reverted back to maxiskirts and grandma boots just my luck long ago actually the decision culminating in agreement between the government of canada and the govern ment of ontario was reached very recently until then both governments were weighing alternatives to make sure that the final decision would yield the best possible results dees the choice of this site call for reorganization of the municipalities in this area because of the scale of the project and the drastic changes that will occur in the pattern of development reorganization of local governments will probably be necessary at some stage i