Residents and businesses in and around Cold Lake will get the chance to have their say about the possibility of a commercial airline coming to the city.
On Tuesday, June 20, during a corporate priorities meeting, Cold Lake council agreed to take the next step in their research for a commercial airline service.
In order to determine who would use a commercial airline, the city will be asking the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) to distribute a survey to residents and business owners. The questionnaire will be given to those living in Cold Lake, Pierceland, and other surrounding communities.
For the survey to be successful, they must have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 completed and returned.
“What we want to do is go out to Cold Lake and beyond and look at who would use a commercial air service from the city,” Mayor Craig Copeland explained. “This is so when we do try and bring a carrier into Cold Lake and they want to see a list, we have that data.”
CAO Kevin Nagoya added the city is hoping to get a better idea of how often people will use the service, and how far they are willing to travel.
“We want to get the whole picture,” Nagoya stated.
Coun. Chris Vining questioned the timing of the survey, wondering if the city would be better to wait until the economy took a turn for the better.
Nagoya responded, “I think it's the right time to do it. If you do it at the peak of the market it has its challenges. This provides you with the background information necessary for commercial air service providers.”
It will also give a baseline of how the system would look even during tough economic times.
So far, the city has been working with 4 Wing Cold Lake on the project to complete a licensing agreement. This agreement was required to meet a number of needs before being finalized. This includes compatibility with 4 Wing's military operations, flexibility to meet security standards, meet the city's vision, and help support raising awareness about the project.
City administration have visited airports such as Lloydminster to see if their facility would meet the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) standards, and have been working with them on the project.
“This commercial air service is in the top five priorities for council. We've been working on it for a while. It's been a journey, but we haven't given up,” Copeland expressed. “We know from so many people in the community doing business in Cold Lake that if they were able to fly in and out it would be important.”
The cost of the survey is about $30,000, funding that will be taken from the economic development initiatives fund.
“It's just going to make life easier for everybody,” said Copeland. “Not just for those in Cold Lake, but also the surrounding area.”
