Fall 2012 - Trailcon

what’s
INSIDE
Editorial .............................2-3
Pitching In ............................5
Tech Talk...............................6
Customer Connection ............7
Travel Tips ..........................8-9
Industry Notes................10-11
FYI ................................12-13
Intermodal Insights ..............14
Boys & Their Toys.................15
Frank Says ..........................15
Calendar of Events ...............16
Editorial
NIMBY NITWITS
By Alan Boughton, President, Trailcon Leasing Inc.
NIMBY is an acronym for the phrase “not in my back yard.” The term
(or the derivative Nimbyism) is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents
to a proposal for a new development close to them, developments that are generally
needed in the society. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies.
Nitwit – a colloquial noun for a scatterbrained or stupid person
■ Foolish in speech or behaviour ■ Not knowing, ignorant of the facts
©2012, Trailcon Leasing Inc. All rights reserved. This work – covered
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Report on Transportation.
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us a note. Information contained in this publication has been compiled
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No liability shall be incurred by Trailcon Leasing Inc. or by any
contributor. Readers are urged to consult their professional advisors
prior to acting on the basis of material in this newsletter.
REPORT on TRANSPORTATION
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Published by:
Trailcon Leasing Inc.
6950 Kenderry Gate
Mississauga, ON L5T 2S7
Tel: 905.670.9061
Fax: 905.670.9066
Service: 855.ROAD.RPR (855-762-3777)
Web: www.trailcon.com
Email: sales@trailcon.com
In December 1988, the Mississauga Board of
Trade (MBOT) formed an Airport Sub-
Committee, and asked me to chair it, as well
as remain chair of the MBOT Transportation
Committee. Having a difficult time
refusing such requests, I took on the task,
and soon after heard the word “NIMBY”
used in a discussion on the expansion of
Pearson International Airport (PIA) runways.
Since then, I have heard it used a
million times as Canadians find ways to
object to any necessary change or development
in their community.
I stayed on as chairman of both the MBOT
committees for 11 years, representing business
and the community through way too
many meetings, as well as almost a year
of Federal Environmental Assessment and
Review Office (FEARO) hearings that were a
colossal waste of taxpayer money and the
time of volunteers like me. Not surprisingly,
the NIMBY people made the bulk of the submissions
to FEARO and at all the public
meetings. These folks owned houses around
PIA, which, by the way, was fully operational
when they purchased their homes, then rallied
the locals to sign petitions, protest, write
letters, erect lawn signs, stomp their feet, or
do anything else to draw attention to their
cause. Their goal was to not only quash the
additional runways and terminal expansion,
but to have the airport closed. Those of us
who attended all of these meetings were
dumbfounded when a nutty NIMBY neighbour
would make a scatterbrained presentation
showing how our Canadian society no
longer needed PIA, or any airport for that
matter, and no airplanes of any description
whether for personal or business use. Panels
and politicians would sit through days
and weeks of these presentations, while I sat
in my seat fully understanding why we
shouldn’t be allowed to carry a handgun. It
didn’t matter when or where a hearing was
taking place; this group of nuts would show
up and demand equal time.
During these hearings, Stage III aircraft
were just starting to replace the DC8, DC9,
707, and 727 aircraft that were admittedly
very noisy. It didn’t matter how many presentations
we made, including on site at the
end of the runways – the NIMBY presenters
called us liars, and declared we were ruining
their lives. Meanwhile, new houses continued
to be built near the airport so that an
endless supply of new NIMBY nuts would
be available to protest. Fortunately for all the
folks in the GTA, and after wasting years
and millions of dollars, the PIA expansion
happened in spite of their protests. The
result of all that work is a world-class
airport, albeit with the world’s worst airline
as its key tenant. However, I digress, so back
to my newest NIMBY friends.
2 REPORT on TRANSPORTATION