I’m on the record as a skeptic about the potential of merging all New Brunswick airports into one and plunking it down in Sussex. I’m not ruling it out as a good idea but I think a lot of work needs to be done to determine if it would on balance be good for the whole population.
I often wonder how Harvest would survive if there were no airport in Fredericton. I really think our ability to bring in anything beyond smaller US groups would be massively constrained. Who wants to travel from New Orlean to LGA/Newark to Toronto to Sussex or Moncton and then have another 70-90 minute drive? Absolutely no one, that’s who.
Very good comments David! The things you suggest need to be fully thought out before endorsing one airport at Sussex. Many people have proposed solutions based on per capita numbers (for example civil servants per capita or population base for local governments etc). Too often, the distribution of NB’s population is not taken into account. With respect to local government viability, some have proposed just drawing a big circle in order to get sufficient population to make a municipality. The truth is that it is population density, not population size that makes local public service provision viable. As with your airport discussion, there are more things to consider than x/capita.
If not consolidated at YQM the only smart option is a new YNB at Riverglade confluence of major highways and three largest populations. The out of date out of synch centric Saint John biased Sussex location has to be full stopped.
If you're travelling to New Brunswick, it rarely makes sense to fly to Moncton, Fredericton, or Saint John only to bus or cab the difference to another one of those cities.
While we can talk about New Brunswickers sucking up the extra KMs to Sussex, business travelers coming to New Brunswick might have a harder time accepting that to come to New Brunswick, they'd be dropped off so far outside any city.
I wonder - Is the greatest benefit of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport that people working in downtown Toronto can get on a flight without going all the way to Toronto Pearson International Airport or is it that people in all the Canadian cities served by Porter can get to a meeting in downtown Toronto easier.
I often wonder how Harvest would survive if there were no airport in Fredericton. I really think our ability to bring in anything beyond smaller US groups would be massively constrained. Who wants to travel from New Orlean to LGA/Newark to Toronto to Sussex or Moncton and then have another 70-90 minute drive? Absolutely no one, that’s who.
Very good comments David! The things you suggest need to be fully thought out before endorsing one airport at Sussex. Many people have proposed solutions based on per capita numbers (for example civil servants per capita or population base for local governments etc). Too often, the distribution of NB’s population is not taken into account. With respect to local government viability, some have proposed just drawing a big circle in order to get sufficient population to make a municipality. The truth is that it is population density, not population size that makes local public service provision viable. As with your airport discussion, there are more things to consider than x/capita.
If not consolidated at YQM the only smart option is a new YNB at Riverglade confluence of major highways and three largest populations. The out of date out of synch centric Saint John biased Sussex location has to be full stopped.
If you're travelling to New Brunswick, it rarely makes sense to fly to Moncton, Fredericton, or Saint John only to bus or cab the difference to another one of those cities.
While we can talk about New Brunswickers sucking up the extra KMs to Sussex, business travelers coming to New Brunswick might have a harder time accepting that to come to New Brunswick, they'd be dropped off so far outside any city.
I wonder - Is the greatest benefit of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport that people working in downtown Toronto can get on a flight without going all the way to Toronto Pearson International Airport or is it that people in all the Canadian cities served by Porter can get to a meeting in downtown Toronto easier.