The Review website has not gone away, even though the “review” is now done. The site has shifted gears to highlight the newest information on plans for the Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA) and they even have a sweet video all about closing the City Centre Airport.

I just want to download that great music they have in the video. It’s peppy, but puts me at ease.

This is my airport. (Alright, alright, I'll let it go...)

I’m out of Edmonton this week (on assignment?) so go easy on Sally, Edmonton. While she can certainly do everything by herself (don’t reinforce that though, I want a place to write) maybe this is a good time to send her a few photos, stories and story ideas. Again, not too much stuff, because I need to come back to a job.

It was great to see that, in even a small way, this website inspired our friend Ryan to muse about his Edmonton pride, the things he doesn’t quite like about the city and some ideas to make things better.

Something that struck me in Ryan’s writing (and in mentions from one or two people I’ve talked to about this website) is that I should point out the edmontonian is not a “booster” site. I don’t love this city through all faults. It’s got problems and I always fear it’s going to handcuff me to the bed and leave with my wallet and clothes.

I do see that Edmonton’s got some great attributes (and great people!) and we’ve already been talking about some of the fun events around town. We’re going to keep pointing you in the direction of cool places and interesting ideas. But when there’s something we think needs addressing, or fixing, we’re going to point that out too.

As Ryan’s blog highlights, you don’t have to be on one side or the other. You can like Edmonton but point out things that require changing.

The idea of the edmontonian is to show you all the neat things and interesting people of #yeg, but also talk about what could be better. It’s not about loving or hating outright. It’s about enjoying AND lamenting, while ultimately creating a larger discussion to make the “City of Champions” truly that. But I suppose mostly just metaphorically…since there aren’t a lot of banners being raised these days…

This park has an amazing glow. Photo: Janine Edwards

While visiting one of my fast-becoming-favourite Edmonton-based websites, I was surprised to find an editorial on closing the Edmonton City Centre Airport. I think everyone is missing the big picture here in all this debate.

A little south of the “Muni,” just behind the RCMP (K-division HQ), is a quaint little park. And do you at the edmontonian know which park this is? Airway Park. That’s right. AIRWAY. As in, a park near an Airport.

If we as a city close the Muni, we will have to re-name this little park. I know what you’re thinking now… you’re re-thinking your decision to close the airport. And I don’t blame you.

Re-name a whole park! That will cost us $100′s of dollars! They might even have to create a new tax.

Without Airway Park… where will our children play? Where will the Edmonton Rugby Union or Down Under Club meet?

And I don’t think you were aware of the ESSPA. The Edmonton Senior Slo-Pitch Association has a long history here in Edmonton (it dates back to 1983).

From their site: “The livelihood of our Association has been due to the commitment of our members who have had to make difficult decisions to ensure Senior Slo-Pitch thrives Edmonton. After long and arduous searching for a suitable sight a five year lease agreement was reached with the City early in 1990. This allowed ESSPA to use two diamonds (3 and 4) at Airway Park (113 St. and 113 Ave.) These two diamonds have since been developed to top grade diamonds complete with infield shale, safety fencing, dugouts and sprinkler system, mostly by volunteer help from our members and with the assistance of the City of Edmonton. Approximately $100,000 (material purchases, contract labor and labor in kind) has been spent developing these two diamonds. Although other groups use the diamonds, they are maintained by ESSPA.”

The very livelihood of ESSPA rests on Airway Park. And you want to shut it and make these poor seniors suffer? Or re-name it and confuse them?

Airway Park has softball history, and is used for multiple sports. Photo: Janine Edwards

And what of these two plaques? What would you do to them?

I haven’t even touched on the costs and time we’ll need to expend to update the above websites, Google, and the like. Who will pay?

I’m surprised at the edmontonian for not researching into the debate throughly enough.

Save the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Save Airway Park.

- Janine Edwards, Edmonton

Don’t like something we’re saying? Love something we’re doing? Always let us know in the comments, or you can write us an e-mail. For ongoing discussion we’re also on Twitter and we’ve got a Facebook group.

I hope you’ve taken the time to read up on the airport debate and have sent off an e-mail (or letter, or even a fax) to your city councillor. They need to know what you want to do with that land.

At first I wanted to write a big, wordy, story about the issue. It was going to have history of the airport, and the debate, and lots of information on who wants to keep it open and who wants to turn it into a new neighbourhood. But why waste your time when a few websites had already provided that information?

I would have written a lengthy story if still employed by a media organization that had to prove to advertisers it had all the information its audience could want. But let’s be honest, sometimes those other sources do it first and/or better. Sometimes newsrooms just use the story from the other guys anyway. (Usually through newswire services.)

The great thing about the Internet is that I can check my ego at the (virtual) door and point you to information. Sometimes that’s better than waxing poetic anyway. the edmontonian doesn’t need to be the only website you read, it just has to be part of your Internet checklist for Edmonton stuff.

Thanks for already Bookmarking us. We hope to keep it worth your while.

This is not my airport.

I’m one of the many who will be watching Edmonton City Council. They’ve got one vote coming, before they break for the summer, that will impact the city for years to come. No matter which way it goes, there will be fallout. Who knew having two airports could be so contentious?

I didn’t live here when Edmontonians voted to shift all passenger air traffic to the International, in a plebiscite back in 1995. Even when I moved here in 2005, I didn’t even think there was much ado about the Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), also known as the “Muni.” Maybe that’s because I, like most people in the city, have never flown on a private or charter flight from the ECCA, taken flight lessons there, or (thankfully) had to be brought in on STARS or a medical flight.

I didn’t even pay much attention when city council asked the administration to give them some ideas of what to do with the airport land, or when the public was first asked for input. I think I first took interest when the mayor gave his State of the City address.  He questioned the future of the airport, and challenged Muni users to provide a vision for it in Edmonton’s plans.

That’s where the debate got interesting.

On one side, you had an administration offering up ideas for developing a new neighbourhood; members of the public speaking about the community of Edmonton’s future – walkable, transit-oriented, with an homage to the air history; and even NAIT students were interested in expanding their campus. This was the image of the Municipal Airport I could get behind.

On the other side, you had proponents of the airport claiming that people would die if medevac flights had to head to the Edmonton International Airport (EIA) in Leduc.

But that’s inaccurate and could almost be described as fear-mongering.  STARS takes on most of the most emergent cases and can land (when the provincial government allows) at any airport in the city. If the transition to the EIA was planned carefully, ambulance lanes, rights of way, traffic signal control, etc… can all be incorporated to save lives. Plus, medical care isn’t up to the City. That’s provincial jurisdiction.

The other arguments from City Centre frequent flyers lands in the status quo department. We’ve heard about how much of an advantage the little airport is for big and small business and connections to northern Alberta. We’re told that business will all head elsewhere, and we’ll be filling unemployment lines with Kingsway employees.

I doubt it.

Northern Alberta businesses, government employees and lobbying municipal politicians MUST come here.  Theycan’t find the Legislature in Calgary, Red Deer or Saskatchewan. They’ll just have to pay $40 for a cab ride (like me). Or use the shuttle service.

Some businesses at the ECCA might have to close. Some will have to move to smaller airports in the region that will pick up flight training. Others will have to head to the EIA, which will likely pick up some of the private and charter flights.

Now, I don’t want Edmonton’s councillors to close the airport without some real planning and visioning for the next few years, with an eye to 10-50 years ahead. That means things like:

• Connecting LRT to the Edmonton International Airport
• Accomodating (with provincial authorities) medical flights and STARS issues
• Closing the airport in a few years to give employees and owners of nearby City Centre businesses time to evolve, close or find new jobs (before getting on my case about telling people to find new jobs, let’s all remember people used to carry around chunks of ice before we all had refridgerators with iceboxes.)

I think this decision is about more than a use for the land today. People don’t want to lose what’s theirs. I get that. But those same people won’t be using it in 50 years. We have to try and build for that Edmonton.

Councillors voting for closure will need to think about those key planning issues though. The air traffic, business transition, LRT to the International and provincial medical flights all have to be considered. They also have to think about how to build that new neighbourhood. You can’t just close the airport and hope something cool pops up.

I want to see those airport lands in the middle of the city become a neighbourhood people want to visit, shop in, live in. It should be walkable, with medium to high-denisty housing. There should be storefront businesses and strips of shopping like we see on Whyte Avenue and 124th Street.

The airport should get its historical due with the museum staying open. I’d love to see that tied into a small business and conference centre. That would accomodate offices for people in the neighbourhood to work at and help maintain the hotel business already in the area. NAIT should be expanded (with residences, if they want).

Connecting to the rest of the city is important. That’s what makes the Whyte/University area so convenient. LRT should have the stops at Kingsway Garden Mall/Royal Alexandra Hospital and NAIT. Both are transit hubs unto themselves and should continue to be so. There could be some great work done to get LRT to the International and bring business travellers to a conference centre right there in the middle of a thriving, connected neighbourhood. Buses will play a role, but I’d also love to see low-floor LRT or a streetcar loop around the whole thing.

I think we’re starting to see better planning from the city with some new ideas for transit and LRT, and plans to build up the downtown.

This neighbourhood could rise from the runways and become an example of urban design for the rest of the world to follow.

More information on keeping the airport open here and closing it here.

If you want your own “Not My Airport” photo, check out my flickr page.