(Canadian Press)
Fixing
the logjam at Canada's busiest border crossing is crucial to improving transportation problems throughout North America, according to a $1 billion plan released Friday.
"There are no low-cost solutions to
the problem," said Sam Schwartz, a New York transportation expert who was in Windsor Friday night to unveil the plan at a public meeting. "We need to think big."
A new bridge linking Windsor to
Detroit, a new truck route from Highway 401, underwater rail tunnels and increased use of river ferries are among the recommendations.
The changes would transform Windsor into a powerful economic hub, feeding
dozens of urban and manufacturing arteries stretching from the bustling ports of Montreal to the end of the NAFTA super highway in Tijuana, Mexico.
The more than $1 billion in recommended road, rail and tunnel
construction - which does not include the estimated $400 to $600 million cost of a new international bridge - represents one of the largest public projects in Canadian history.
"The issue is of vital
importance. Short-term or minor fixes at the Windsor border would be inadequate," said Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. "It needs to be major."
If Windsor's
municipal council adopts the plan it commissioned, it will form the basis of financing negotiations between the city and senior levels of government.
Available financing has yet to be determined, but Prime
Minister Paul Martin has said he will back a border solution that has local support. The city's mayor plans to hold Martin to his word. "I'm prepared to take this to Queens Park and Ottawa and start camping out
until they act on this file," said Mayor Eddie Francis.
"We don't have time. We are already behind schedule on this. (Construction) should have begun yesterday."
While it could take a decade
to build the new bridge, Schwartz also proposed a series of short-term solutions, including removing more than 109 level rail crossings from Windsor and Essex and Kent counties.
He also proposed a new multi-modal
transportation centre on the grounds of Windsor airport to service the exchange of cargo shipped by air, rail and truck. The centre would include a new Via Rail passenger station.
The plan includes a new rail
tunnel that Schwartz predicted could reduce truck traffic in the city by 2,000 every day.
Schwartz is a traffic-planning consultant recognized as one of the leading transportation engineers in the United States.
He is credited with coining the word "gridlock."
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Transport Minister Issues Statement on the Windsor Border Traffic Report
(Transport Canada)
Transport Minister Jean C. Lapierre today released the
following statement regarding the presentation of the Windsor Border Traffic report, also known as the Schwartz report, which was presented today at a public meeting in Windsor.
"We are pleased
that the City of Windsor has commissioned the report by former New York City traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz to set out its perspective on possible Phase 2 initiatives under the Let's Get Windsor-Essex
Moving strategy.
"Transport Canada looks forward to reviewing the full report as a followup to the highlights provided to federal officials by the City of Windsor last fall.
"Transport Canada is anxious to continue negotiations with the Government of Ontario, the City of Windsor and the County of Essex to implement short and medium term projects which will improve local
traffic flows and address congestion and security issues at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway.
"We look forward to achieving an early agreement on Phase 2 initiatives as outlined in the Memorandum of
Understanding signed by all parties in March 2004."
The Governments of Canada, Ontario, the United States and Michigan are partnering in a long term Bi National Planning Process that has produced
a comprehensive 30-year transportation strategy to help ensure the corridor remains a key gateway between Canada and the United States.
Transport Canada remains committed to this partnership, and the
ongoing Bi-National Environmental Assessment Study, to provide for additional long-term capacity in the area. The department will continue to work with its partners to expedite this process, while ensuring
that all requirements are met, to attain the goal of having a new crossing under construction in 2010. |
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