AEG on Edmonton airport report: Report raises more questions than it answers

EDMONTON: The Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) is flagging a number of serious concerns arising from the Edmonton City Airport Lands Impact Assessment Results, released on June 18, 2009.

“Based on this report, it would be unwise for City Councillors to vote in favour of closing the Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA),” said AEG President Tim Shipton. “The City’s own report drastically devalues the potential revenue from development, states there are millions in additional costs associated with developing the airport lands and glosses over serious concerns from Edmonton’s medical community.”

Land Valuation

The value of ECCA lands in current and future markets has been dramatically reduced. A conservative valuation of the development pegs Total Net Revenue of the sale of land at $91 million, with the potential for $17.5 million in annual property tax revenue for the City..

The report fails to outline the following costs:

• Environmental remediation of contaminated soil. The cost of environmental remediation remains unknown and could cost in the tens of millions based on past examples of airport soil remediation.

• Changes to Yellowhead Trail. Developing multi-family, residential development will necessitate major construction to the Yellowhead Trail, with the likely possibility of an overpass or interchange. The recent 23rd Avenue interchange cost Edmonton taxpayers $260 million. The recent announcement of the Yellowhead and Anthony Henday interchange pegged the cost at $168 million.

• Compensation to sub-lease holders. Were the City able to convince Edmonton Airports to surrender the Head Lease, there would still be substantial challenges in obtaining the surrender and the subsequent compensation of sub-lease holders at the ECCA site.

• CN Rail yards. If CN requires the land for expansion, Yellowhead Trail will need to be relocated, reducing the overall area available for redevelopment within the ECCA Lands by approximately 142 acres or nearly 25 per cent.

“Once you take into consideration the Yellowhead interchange, proposed LRT tunnel or bridge and environmental remediation, this proposal becomes a substantial liability for taxpayers – not an asset,” said Shipton.

Economic Impact

The report does not include the positive impact of the ECCA on jobs and economic output. This omission makes it incomplete and biased towards closure.

In fact, a 2005 report commissioned by Edmonton Airports concluded the direct economic impact of this facility on the provincial economy is:

• $69 million in gross domestic product (GDP);
• $170 million in economic output; and
• $41 million in wages.

Including indirect and induced effects, and in round numbers, the total provincial impacts of ongoing operations at ECCA are:

• 2,300 jobs (nearly 2,200 person years of employment);
• $164 million in GDP; $388 million in economic output; and
• $99 million in wages.

These positive numbers need to be included in any analysis.

Medevac

Interestingly, the data enclosed in the consultant’s report indicates there is no better plan to deal with time sensitive, medical emergencies than using the ECCA. Using the International Airport for medevac purposes means longer ground travel time and reliance on less reliable modes of transportation. The options proposed by the consultant are costly and less effective than a solution that includes the ECCA. The question of “who” would pay for these unnecessary changes, or even “how much” these changes would cost is not addressed.

Despite the consultant’s assertions that these changes to medevac are manageable, this opinion is directly contradicted by pre-eminent medical authorities in a variety of fields.

• Dr. Sunil Sookram, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine at the UofA listed a long list of concerns and concluded that longer transport times will have an adverse impact on patients.

• Dr. Allan de Caen, Medical Director of the PICU Transport Team at the Stollery Children’s Hospital says longer transport times are associated with higher death rates among children needing emergency care.

• Dr. Blair J. O’Neill, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiology Division at the University of Alberta Hospital points to the unreliability of helicopters in harsh winter weather. He ultimately concludes “in a condition where time is of the essence, it makes no sense to lose the City Centre Airport.”

• Medical Director of Trauma at the University of Alberta Hospital Dr. Mary vanWijngaarden-Stevens argues that closing the ECCA could lead to avoidable deaths and disability.

• Dr. Ruben Hanson, Site Chief at Emergency Medicine at the Royal Alexandra states that delays in getting medical attention will have “a detrimental effect on long term outcomes including survival rate and quality of life.

• Dr. D.J Kutsogiannis, Medical Director for Human Organ Procurement Exchange Committee says the ECCA is the best option for timely delivery of human organs.

“The argument put forward by the City Consultant are in direct conflict with what doctors and nurses are saying at the front lines,” said AEG President Tim Shipton. “There is no better option for critically ill, time-sensitive patients than the City Centre Airport. Everyone in the aviation knows that helicopters are often grounded in harsh winter weather, which would leave critically ill patients exposed to dangerous and unpredictable ground transportation in potentially severe weather.”

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