Mayoral candidate Bob Hawkesworth is facing criticism as the only vocal opponent of the proposed airport tunnel.
Hawkesworth said the results of a report released last week by the Calgary Airport Authority support the argument he’s been making for months.
“When Barlow Trail closes in 2011, it’s going to have only very minor impacts on traffic patterns throughout the northeast and along Deerfoot Trail and McKnight Boulevard,” Hawkesworth said Thursday.
“To spend half-a-billion dollars to shave a few minutes off of trips that are very infrequent and do not affect very many people, to my way of thinking, is the wrong priority.”
He said he hopes his mayoral opponents look at the information in the report and change their views.
However, Ward 3 Ald. Jim Stevenson, one of the most vocal proponents of the tunnel, said he doesn’t foresee that happening.
“Bob Hawkesworth is very uninformed on this” said Stevenson. “It’s disappointing to me that he’s so uninformed and has such little vision.”
Hawkesworth has launched www.noairporttunnel.ca, which he hopes Calgarians will visit to sign his petition.
