Do you like bullies? Well if you don't we have something in common,I really don’t. In fact I hate bullies even more that can use money and glitz to get their way. I think in Edmonton that is what almost what was the case.
I did a little test the other day, just because an issue was bugging me and I needed some answers. What I did was have my son and I walk from my offices in down town Edmonton to the city Centre, in all encompassing about four city blocks. The day was sunny and warm and people were out in droves to catch some of the few remaining hot days. What we did is, ask each of the people that could spare a minute if they could answer a few quick questions for a poll that we were doing. In all we talked to 62 people.
The first question was easy.
Have you ever used the Municipal Airport for anything?
Out of the number we asked that day and maybe it was coincidence only 2 had flown out of it but not since the Calgary flights were abandoned years ago. About 4 had been to the Indy races.
The next question was.
Do you think we should have a municipal airport?
About 20 said yes.
Then we tricked them and asked.
Why?
Well the answers I heard were not what I expected about an issue that seemed to be getting a ton of press. In fact the answers weren’t very original; almost all of them were based on the rhetoric we were hearing from the save the airport group.
You know the rhetoric, the lives that would be jeopardized by the loss of Medi –vac services. There would be massive job losses, the Indy races would be lost. (Now losing that money maker would be a real loss, yup)
My question was, why would we lose any of that, except maybe the races? Don’t we have another airport connected by a new freeway system that is just outside of town. So the Medi-vac question, hmmm let me see; how fast does a helicopter fly? To a helicopter that flies so much faster than a car can drive; the difference from the Muni to the International is what minutes at most? Just for the record I don’t think it will matter in the least. In fact why can’t the helicopters just land right at the hospitals? Silly me they do!
The argument is; we will lose the zillions of jobs lost by losing the gateway to the north! Why would that be? By losing the Muni airport is that mean we are going to move the whole city out of the way so that we won’t be the hub of transportation to the northern communities? So just from my perspective if I had to move my business out to a more modern sophisticated place like the International airport, will I still not need my staff? Why would there be any job loss?
The couple of answers I really enjoyed were interesting because of the two young gentlemen that didn’t want to lose the Indy races. They really liked them. When I asked if they had ever went, neither of them had. In fact they both said other than the races they have never even thought of using the airport and that they didn’t care about the rest of the issues.
My standard line to folks when I am asked is; look at the Edmonton down town, wouldn’t it be nice to not have our down town, squished against the river? Wouldn’t it be nice to eliminate that huge land locked tract of property and have it available to city for planners so they could plan our down town and maybe we could eliminate the traffic congestion the airport causes as all thoroughfares have to go around it? Wouldn’t it be nice to allow for development of some of the higher buildings that have been restricted for decades, because of an airport few of us ever use? Wouldn’t it be nice to spread some of the office towers out of the core without the fear of a Cessna crashing into the building? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a new fresh community just north of down town instead of a huge tract of land that very few of us ever use, in fact most will never use, turned into a vital part of our Edmonton landscape?
I was surprised that even in my own office the couple of young people that were recruited to get the petitions had never used the airport but had bought in to the nonsense about their freedom was being jeopardized by allowing elected members of council decide on the airports fate. They believed somehow that the airport issue was a slight against the voters of Edmonton. This issue more than ever has convinced me that with enough money you can bully just about anybody into anything. So congratulations city council and Mayor Mandel, tell the bullies to pack up their money bags and stop trying to flog this dead horse. I was really convinced of the power of money when they were even going to pay community leagues off, to get signatures... wow ... now that is democratic.
My grandparents, until they passed had a house in Sherbrook just north of the airport. I can’t begin to tell you the conversations that were interrupted, the TV shows that were drowned out and the telephone calls that you had to cover the receiver so the person on the other end wouldn’t hear the sound of the jets engines as it landed in the airport. The noise was incredible. My Grandparents were so excited when the big jets finally stopped landing at the airport.
I really am disgusted by the subtle and effective PR campaign of these rich bullies. I have to give them credit though; they had and have so many people confused as to what the real issue is. This is not about our civil liberties; this is not an issue of endangering Medi-Vac and human lives. This is about how many of us will ever have any real benefit from having that silly airport in our back yard, strangling our down town and using up huge vital tracts of land, subsidized by all of us for a few of us.
I wish they would be this passionate about the fact that half the real charities in this city aren’t making ends meet, because of huge government charities are swallowing up every available dollar. Maybe, they should have spent the enormous amount of cash they spent on this ridiculous cause, and instead probably supply a hot lunch programs for the inner city schools for about 20 years. No they want their way and they have money, and they want that airport. So no matter what; they will bully, push coerce and baffle with bull manure the people of this city until they get their way. Well Thank God our mayor and city council don’t like bullies either, at least that is how I see it.
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