Billy Bishop Airport pedestrian tunnel to open today

Getting to Billy Bishop Airport is about to get a whole lot easier.
The long-awaited pedestrian tunnel that connects the airport terminal on Toronto Island with the mainland will officially open to the public at 1:30 p.m. today following a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
The 853-feet tunnel, which after delays took more than three years to build and cost $82.5 million, will be able to transport 1,100 people per hour via four automated pedways. Officials say no tax dollars were spent on building the tunnel.Previously, passengers relied on a ferry that departed each side of the channel every 15 minutes. That ferry will continue to operate once the tunnel opens to the public.
Toronto Mayor John Tory was on hand at a news conference along with federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt Thursday to herald the project as a “great achievement.”
Raitt said the ferry service alone has caused passengers stress as delays or a missed boat often meant missed flights.
“From the tunnel, people will have direct access to the core,” she said.
Tory said the tunnel, which takes about six minutes to cross, is the latest example of the city’s modernized waterfront.
“It’s a modern, practical connection to the mainland,” he said. “It’s what you can expect from a world-class city.”
In a statement issued Thursday morning, Coun. Rob Ford took credit for the airport tunnel, noting that it was under his administration that work began on the project.
“As far back as 40 years ago, there were discussions about the need for a link to Toronto’s City Centre Airport,” the statement says. “Had it not been for the agreement reached in July 2011 between my administration and the Toronto Port Authority, we may have had to wait another 40 years.”
Ford also noted that current mayor John Tory would have been unable to be involved in tunnel discussions had he been on council at the time because of his son’s past lobbying in favour of allowing jets at the island airport.
Tory has previously said that he will declare a conflict-of-interest on all matters relating to the proposal to “permit jet service at Billy Bishop,” though it is unclear whether he would have declared a conflict on debates surrounding the tunnel had he been in power at the time.
“Once again, I am very happy to see the pedestrian tunnel opening, and plan on being at this morning’s ribbon cutting ceremony,” Ford wrote. “I look forward to the added economic benefit that it, and further airport expansion, can bring to the City of Toronto.”