Statement on Pedestrian Pathway Associated with Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) Design Proposed for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

Toronto (September 27, 2024) – On July 17, 2024, PortsToronto presented three runway design options for consideration and consultation as part of the Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) that must be implemented at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in order to comply with Transport Canada safety regulations. One option – RESA Option #3 – included the depiction of a potential pedestrian pathway around the runway and restricted-access utility corridor.
 
As a direct result of feedback received to date from members of the community, PortsToronto has now removed the pedestrian pathway from the RESA Option #3 design. The restricted-access utility corridor will remain, however the publicly accessible pedestrian pathway, that was proposed for consideration, will be removed from design and implementation plans.
 
Background
 
By way of background, an airside service road is being proposed in RESA Option #3. This road would be a restricted-access, paved surface for existing service vehicles only. It would provide safer access to the City of Toronto service vehicles (water, garbage, school bus, etc.) as well as Emergency/EMS vehicles to access the Toronto Islands using the current access route near the Hanlan ferry dock (i.e., the vehicles would still travel through the gate/fence on the east side as they do today). Rather than having to cross the runway, these vehicles could go around the runway via this airside road. Billy Bishop Airport has approximately 3,700 runway crossing per year by service and emergency vehicles which require a security escort, permission from the NAV CANADA tower, and can be disruptive to operational safety.
 
In the preliminary design for RESA Option #3 there is visual and written reference to a possible space allocation for a public pathway as part of a restricted access underground utility corridor. That pathway was included in the design to illustrate a potential feature that could be developed in the future. It was included in the preliminary design to gauge the City of Toronto’s interest in such a pathway and to be part of the public consultation. 
 
However, it has been made clear that such a pathway is not a welcomed feature. As a result, PortsToronto will not explore this option further and it will not be part of any final design or implementation for RESA.
 
PortsToronto has elected to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) to support the eventual RESA design. This includes public consultation and meetings. PortsToronto appreciates public feedback and will endeavour to listen and implement feedback to the community whenever possible.