I wouldn't hold your breath quite yet
There's no way they can close down a busy airport and build up houses in a year. As Doug pointed out, look at Buttonville (CYKZ). When I was still at student way up in Sault Ste. Marie, I had heard mention of Buttonville closing within 3-5 years. Well, that was just over 3 years ago now
and I can say with almost certainty that it will not be closed within the next year or two. Airports are volatile wastelands when it comes to the environment. There's old forgotten fuel tanks, improper procedures that were once practiced, not to mention the years of fuel being dumped after testing it during the walk around.
I remember some environment group doing soil testing at Buttonville, and they came across this old fuel tank in the ground that everyone had forgotten about. It's partially underneath part of one of the hangars, maybe 50 feet away from the flight school. Well, the people that could remember a time when it was used, thought that it had been completely emptied, and then filled with sand. In reality, there was more than 1000 gallons of fuel still in there, seeping through this forgotten fuel tank's cracks, and into the ground.
I'm not saying that the Edmonton Municipal Airport is in as bad of shape, but it will definitely have to pass an environmental safety test before building can commence, and with an airport as old as that, there's bound to be a few secrets under the ground
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:18 am
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