STAFF REPORT
February 1, 2000
To: Economic Development and Parks Committee
From: Joe Halstead, Commissioner Economic Development, Culture and Tourism
Subject: Proposed Twinning of Peace Bridge Canada / United States Border Crossing
All Wards
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to bring Council's attention to the proposed twinning of the Peace Bridge border crossing
between Canada (Fort Erie, Ontario) and the United States (Buffalo, New York) and the City's interests in this matter.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) Council advise the Federal and Provincial governments through the Prime Minister and Premier respectively, the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Greater Toronto Services Board, Governor of New York and Mayor of Buffalo
that the City of Toronto supports the proposed twinning of the Peace Bridge and urges all parties involved in effecting the
implementation of the new bridge to work cooperatively to complete this project as early as possible; and
(2) the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Background:
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Bridge Authority, a bi-national agency with a Board of Directors appointed by the Government
of Canada and the State of New York, is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Peace Bridge crossing
between Canada and the United States. The Authority has proposed to twin the existing bridge to provide additional
capacity for increased trade and tourist traffic between the two countries.
Although the project has received both environmental approval and funding approval it may not proceed to implementation
until outstanding issues with the City of Buffalo are resolved. This report summarizes the need for the new bridge and the
City of Toronto's interests in the project.
Comments:
The existing Peace Bridge connecting Fort Erie to Buffalo was built in 1927. This 3 lane bridge is currently operating at, or
above, capacity processing over 6,000 trucks a day in addition to business and tourist traffic travelling by inter-city bus and
passenger vehicle. Weekday delays crossing the bridge now regularly extend to one hour during the summer and often
reach one and one-half hours.
Since the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement in 1989, the volume of cross border commercial traffic has
increased by almost 70% and is expected to double again in the next 3 to 5 years. The proposed twinning of the Peace
Bridge is the only cross border roadway expansion project planned to accommodate this expected increase in trade.
Without a significant increase in border crossing capacity, the current delays will become unacceptably long to local
manufacturers and their cross border clients, particularly those relying on just-on-time delivery. To avoid these delays,
reduce shipping costs and improve reliability, local manufacturers may chose to establish or relocate existing operations to
the United States taking high wage jobs and investment with them. Manufacturing jobs generally have high economic
multipliers, i.e. 1 manufacturing job usually supports 2 or more additional jobs in the local economy related to the supply
and distribution chain and the provision of retail and amenity products and services. The U.S. Border States are also a
major point of origin for leisure tourist traffic to Toronto and southern Ontario. Lengthy delays at the border will have a
negative impact on the City's tourism industry.
The urgent need for additional cross border road capacity is aggravated by the need to re-deck the existing bridge, which is
almost 25 years beyond the normal life expectancy for this type of structure. In the absence of a new (twin) bridge,
re-decking the existing structure will require traffic to be limited to one lane in each direction on a rotating basis while the
remaining 3rd lane is rehabilitated. These restrictions, and the additional delays, would be in place for 3 - 5 years to
complete re-decking the entire structure. The existing bridge is operated using 2 lanes to accommodate peak direction
traffic and 1 lane for the non-peak direction. Even with accelerated
Customs processing, restricting peak direction traffic to a single lane will significantly increase the current delay.
The Bridge Authority proposal is to construct a new (twin) 3-lane bridge adjacent the existing structure. The estimated cost
of the new bridge is $150 million, which will be completely funded by the Authority, without government support. The
new bridge, which could be open by 2003, would provide additional capacity for increased commercial and tourist traffic.
In the short term, it would also allow the existing (old) bridge to be temporarily closed for re-decking while traffic was
transferred to the new bridge. This would accelerate the redecking process and ensure a minimum of 3 operating lanes for
cross border traffic in the interim.
The proposed new bridge received environmental approval after lengthy public consultation, however, implementation was
stopped in response to concerns raised in the City of Buffalo. The concerns include a desire to create a 'signature' bridge
and to address design issues at the approach/landing on the Buffalo side. The Buffalo Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority is
working to resolve those issues.
In the longer term, the Peace Bridge crossing is an important link in a proposal known as Continental 1 which would create
a new trade corridor connection Toronto and Miami. This new trade corridor which is still in the planning phase would
improve access for Toronto businesses to markets thoughout the U.S. as well as to Mexico and the Caribbean.
Conclusions:
The Peace Bridge border crossing is a critical link for commercial and tourist traffic travelling between Ontario and New
York State. The existing bridge needs to be re-decked and additional capacity is required to accommodate the rapidly
increasing trade volumes. Summer weekday border crossing delays are now 60 to 90 minutes. If capacity is not increased
Council should anticipate business relocations to the United States and reduced tourist visits from the Border States.
Increasing cross border road capacity is consistent with the emerging directions of our economic development strategy
which supports investment in infrastructure to improve the competitive position of Toronto's export clusters. Twinning the
existing bridge would address both the long term strategic requirement for additional capacity and the short term
operational need to re-deck the existing structure while maintaining operations. These benefits would be achieved at no
cost to the City. Council should urge all parties to resolve any outstanding issues and begin construction of the new bridge
as soon as possible.
This project would also clearly benefit businesses outside Toronto. Therefore, it would be appropriate for Council to
request the Provincial and Federal governments, and Mayor and
Chairs throughout southern Ontario, to indicate their support for proceeding with this important project as quickly as
possible.
Contact:
Randy C. McLean,
Senior Policy Advisor
Tel: 392-3397
Fax: 397-5332
rmclean@toronto.ca
Joe Halstead
Commissioner Economic Development, Culture and Tourism
