Torontonians are slowly warming up to the idea of jets at Billy Bishop City Centre Airport, according to a new poll.
The Forum Research telephone poll of 1,271 randomly selected residents found that 46 per cent support letting the larger planes use the downtown airport compared to 40 per cent who oppose and 14 per cent who didn't have an opinion.
Support was highest among men (58 per cent), those who make between $100,000 and $250,000 a year (53 per cent), and those who drive to work or school (55 per cent).
Opposition was strongest among those who live in the downtown core (48 per cent) and those who disapprove of the job Mayor Rob Ford is doing (53 per cent).
Overall, the ratio of respondents in favour of the idea is up three per cent since a similar poll in December.
“When we polled Billy Bishop in December, the city had soured on the idea of extending the runways for jets slightly,” Forum Research president Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release. “Now levels of enthusiasm are back up where they were when we began polling this issue last summer.”
Porter Airlines is seeking permission to fly its new jets out of the island airport as it looks to expand its network to new destinations, but in order do so Toronto city council, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority must all sign off.
The poll is considered accurate to within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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