Michael Douglas Scott 🇨🇦

These tropes about opposition to Billy Bishop being “anti-development” are repetitious, cringeworthy, and tiresome. They substantially mischaracterize the argument against expansion. The question is not build versus not build. It’s what should Toronto build to create the greatest net public benefit. Hint: it’s not an airport. 🧵

Erin, I’m surprised you are taking this position. I think very highly of you so it makes me a sad to see you parroting Ford’s “Trumpy” talking points. The business case for Billy Bishop is exceedingly weak, and the Ford government should be embarrassed for the amateurish way they have conducted themselves. Business cases have to be weighed against alternatives. The alternative to Billy Bishop is not business as usual. It is what the Toronto waterfront could be with a little imagination and leadership; it is about opportunity cost. What are we giving up? The benefits of extending BB airport are small potatoes compared to what we could have in its place. Consider Chicago. Many years ago, they were faced with similar debate about what to do with their waterfront. Like Toronto, they even had a harbour airport, Meig’s Field. In 2003, mayor Richard Daley abruptly closed the airport by covertly digging up the runway at night. He took a lot of heat for it, but it turned out to be the right decision. Chicago developed its Lakefront Trail—a contiguous public walking trail running along Chicago’s waterfront. It stretches 18 miles for cyclists and 18.5 for pedestrians. It links Lincoln Park, North Avenue Beach, Navy Pier, Grant Park, Millennium Park, Museum Campus, Soldier Field, Burnham Park, and Jackson Park. What makes it important is that it acts as the spine of Chicago’s public waterfront, connecting beaches, parks, harbours, museums, neighbourhoods, and downtown—a place for residents and visitors alike. Millennium Park alone is now one of the 10 most visited destinations in the US with 25 million visits annually. Chicago earns $22B USD in annual tourist spend. By comparison, Toronto’s annual tourist spend is a measly $6B USD. Chicago’s McCormick Place, which faces Millenium Park, is the largest convention centre in North America—2.6 million sq feet of exhibition space. What Mayor Daley did was create an economic cash cow for his city—against the entrenched interests. Compare that to Ford’s muddled thinking. He wants to extend a runway that will go right in front of Ontario Place—his supposed new entertainment complex. He is spending public money to build a parking garage for a spa operator. He wants to build a convention centre somewhere at the Ex—although, God knows where he would put it and how it would function. The problem with Doug Ford is he thinks about issues about as clearly as Donald Trump, and makes as many economically stupid decisions as The Donald. The Ford government has the misguided view that extending Billy Bishop will bring more conventioneers. It won’t. People are not attracted to a city because of an airport. To attract conventions, city’s have to offer something special. We should be selling our waterfront—we are blessed with a natural asset better than Chicago’s. We should build a convention centre in the Port Lands at Polson Pier overlooking the greatest skyline in the world and putting in a streetcar loop joining the Islands, the Port Lands and Harbourfront. A connected waterfront in Toronto is capable of bringing in far more tourist business than Chicago. Air travel capacity can be accommodated in many places and in many ways — including $3B in capacity increases to Pearson, the UP Express, regional transit upgrades, and the Alto train. The issue we need to understand is that Toronto has only one downtown waterfront. Let’s use it for its highest and best use—not some dumb airport that could go elsewhere. Any smart business person should be able to do the math. I’ve done the math and I’m happy to show you my work—including in person. As I said, I respect you. I would honoured to show you what is possible. My DMs are open.

What is the objective of the Toronto Harbourlands development project? Make Toronto a “must visit” global city by giving it a park to surpass that of Central Park, Millennium Park, Stanley Park, Hyde Park, and others. What are the key elements? 1) Close Billy Bishop airport. 2) Build swing bridges over the Eastern and Western Gaps. 3) Build a loop streetcar line joining Harbourfront, the Islands, Cherry Beach, and the Port Lands — with a spur to Exhibition Place and Ontario Place. 4) Build a new convention centre in the Port Lands with the greatest view of Toronto’s skyline. 5) Build out the Port Lands into a new entertainment district that includes a revamped Hearn Generating Station similar to London’s Battersea Power Station. 6) Join up the Toronto Waterfront from the eastern Beaches to the western Humber River.