Small group discussions

Trade and Transportation

David Carter, facilitator

Session One:

Participants: Gene Nowicki, Peter Cammarata, Thomas Pericak, Michael Casali, John Barr, Willie Moskowitz, Paul Dyster, Ron Guido, Robert Miller, Catherine Schweitzer, Bill Connor

Opportunities:

• Eliminate border bottlenecks by making use of modern information techniques (sharing processing).

• Truck-train inter-modal transport.

• Cross ferry traffic.

• Niagara mid-peninsula corridor (needs study being undertaken).

• Need regular discussions/information sharing about large scale initiatives e.g. Niagara Falls/Buffalo Transportation Corridor:

* focus on Niagara Peninsula and Western New York;

* treat as a trade corridor, not just a bridge i.e. development potential other activities;

* take advantage of forecasted growth in Can-US trade.

• 43 organizations have a trade-corridor focus.

• Trade, tourism & investment e.g. BorderNet, Bilateral Commission (Paul Dyster), White House Task Force on Livable communities is looking at Buffalo’s Bethlehem Steel (they may link in).

• Monorail/people mover on both sides of the River.

• More broadly, look at how tourists move around the region in a comprehensive way.

• Airports don’t seem quite right/coordinated.

• Is there a road dedicated to trucks anywhere?

• Current congestion problems deter investment.

• Have lost rail infrastructure both in Canada and Western New York.

• Niagara Falls, NY should encourage train riding into the City from the airport -- ultimate opportunity for hub.

• Adaptive re-use of older corridors, e.g. Robert Moses.

• Rail dependent industries in W. New York are suffering due to problems; some are switching to trucks.

• Hwy. 407 N of Toronto is a model of quick, private/public partnership construction and management; uses tolls.

• Doing a business case for the Niagara mid-peninsula corridor.

• New port in Niagara County (for trans-border Lake shipping).

• Customs.

 Priorities for the Fall Meeting:

1. Application of technologies to cross-border movement.

2. Corridors (rail, road & mid-peninsula).

3. A port in Niagara County (for cross-lake shipping).

4. A cross-border people mover (Niagara Falls, Ontario & NY, Buffalo).

Strategies:

Technology:

• Information processing between databases e.g. give customs access to databases at factory; eg. Canpass is first generation for moving people – move to quick one-time I.D. like retina, prints.

• Challenge is to design process to take advantage of technology.

• Identify high volume/frequent users and accelerate for them e.g. pre-clear.

• But will still have bottlenecks if everyone using same crossing, therefore dedicate a pre-cleared bridge?

• Need to market and educate about the technology we have so users know about it and use it effectively; same at the bridges/standard architecture.

• NYTEC.

 Corridors:

• Multi-modal.

• Coordinate the planning - GBNRTC (regional planning) and MTO, NYSDOT, Bridge Authorities, municipalities.

• "Hourglass" thinking – understand the other side and appreciate that it can be flipped over.

• Understand the links to Greater Toronto Area, into NY, i.e. the big picture.

• Appreciate competition between modes.

• Combine rail, passenger vehicle, trucking in corridors?

 Port in Niagara County:

• 50-75 trucks in 35-40 minutes, 2 vessels simultaneously.

• Simple infrastructure/ low cost.

• Upgrade road link to I-190.

• Look into the Lake Ontario Fast Ferry.

• West of Rochester e.g. Somerset.

• Need business case

 People Mover:

• Niagara Falls, NY & Niagara Falls ON & Buffalo – easy convenient, without a car.

• Park Commission in Ont. beginning to implement one, should link with the US municipalities.

• Then look at how to manage the way people come into the region as a whole (train?, plane?).

Session 2

Participants: Max Coykendall, Stan Rydelek, Joe Collura, David Crombie, Tom DeSantis.

 Strategies:

(most important ones that should be considered for the Fall Meeting -- **)

• Inventory the attractions we wish to link followed by an inventory of alternative modes to link bridges, ferries, water taxis.

• Conference should include discussion on borders; let’s learn from our experiences and world wide examples -- Germany, France...**

• "Re-use" Peace Bridge, CP Rail bridge for bicycle, pedestrians, people mover (people go through one clearance point, then travel free); could be the Niagara River Ponte Vecchio with a museum lining the bridge.**

• Investigate options for pedestrian, bicycle access especially at Grand Island.

• New York State should take advantage of T-21 funding for non-auto/truck transport modes e.g. Hyatt monorail to Niagara Falls, Ontario; Buffalo Airport e.g. historic customs house could act as a gateway.**

• Micro-green bridges – a lot of smaller bridges needed to help get pedestrian movement across the River.

 Opportunities:

• Redesign/reconfigure sections of the Robert Moses Parkway to restore natural heritage and improve access to the River and quality of life.

• Shift in thinking in parkways from mobility to access:

– the parkway detracts from goal of increased tourism linking sites

– mode gives access.

• Need to know what we’re trading/moving (entertainment, people, culture, ideas, technologies) and what business we’re in now (brownfield, wine, peace/borders).

• Expressways for in/out of the region; once in the Region, then turn discussion into mode.

• Both Canadians & Americans benefit from improved access to border.

• People mover, Niagara Falls, NY, start with back and forth over the bridge.

• Make "Border business" (i.e. trade, tax, insurance, legal etc.) more efficient, use technology, harmonize process, procedures etc.

• No money sticks to border communities simply as a result of being a gateway; how do we get the money to stick?

 Priorities for the Fall Meeting:

1. People mover – apply T21 funding.

2. Border business is changing – what’s being traded needs investigating.

3. Reconfiguring existing road systems to meet new uses where appropriate (e.g. Robert Moses Parkway).

4. If a new Peace Bridge is build, re-use the existing one as a Ponte Vecchio (get people moving across it).