Community Air

Also during the 1990s, the city had taken an interest in waterfront revitalization, with several studies proposing the takeover of harbour and airport functions and the conversion of disused or under-used port lands for other uses.

The consensus of revitalization studies was the removal of the Gardiner Expressway in the downtown area, greening of the lakefront and harbourfront, and a closure or reduction in the island airport.

[1] In July 2001, at a news conference held with representatives of the Sierra Club, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Toronto Environmental Alliance, the group proposed converting the 200 acres (81 ha) airport to parkland.

Even with the Community Air's support of the cancellation of the fixed-bridge to the Island Airport (as a result of the election of David Miller as mayor), the issue of a link to the mainland continued to be discussed.

In 2006 the Toronto Port Authority launched a lawsuit against Community Air, claiming it had defamed individual board members and the agency.

The high-speed rail link between downtown and Pearson International, which then-mayor David Miller proposed as an alternative to expanding the Island Airport, itself took years to materialize since it faced opposition from residents along that route.

Critics of Community Air have pointed out that the Gardiner Expressway, situated on the city's shoreline, contributes over 48,000 times more pollution than does the Island airport (Source: Report on Toronto's Waterfront).