Is It Worth The Ride To Acton

If you have been in the Toronto area, I am sure that you will have heard that radio commercial for the Olde Hide House, the store that sells leather goods. It's about a 45 mile drive between Toronto and Acton where the store is located and takes about an hour to get there.

The owners just do not sell the "store" but rather something more to get people to come there. "We invite you to visit us in Acton, Canada's Leathertown since 1844 and enjoy the country drive, browse quaint shops and complete your stay with lunch or dinner at Tanners Restaurant."

They sell: "the restored 19th century setting of the olde Hide House serves to showcase the unique leather industry heritage of Acton - the last small town near Toronto."

And then the clincher "In addition to great selection, most items are priced less - often much less - than comparable goods sold elsewhere!"

No, this is not meant to be a commercial for them but to show how that company has been able to market themselves and create a niche in a tough market. And isn't that Windsor's challenge in the face of the Border ID mess, no smoking, the crisis in the bingo industry and the casinos in Detroit just announcing major expansions. How do we convince Americans to keep on coming across?

We are going to have major problems as Allenparkpete mentions. When you also read the Detroit News story below, you may wonder if we can succeed unless we create Windsor as a destination and not just as "Sin City."

Allenparkpete strikes again:

"I agree with Sen. Leahy....issuing that card will kill downtown Windsor so we may not even need the two border crossings we have now! Casino Windsor could be turned into a large paintball warehouse between no smoking and the border card...

in all seriousness that border card situation is very worrisome.....I even brought it up with some co-workers here and most of them could not be bothered to fill out something like that....its just not worth their while so for the casual visitor (from Ohio or Pennsylvannia or a southern state) they would never think of getting something like that. So travel to Windsor or Niagara Falls or you name it, would fall dramatically...........Eddie Francis's Keg Restaurant may even go under....!

• U.S. senator says border ID card plan is a 'train wreck' and should be dropped
  BETH GORHAM Thu Mar 2, 5:37 PM ET
  
  WASHINGTON (CP) - Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy says the "cockamamie idea" of requiring new identity cards at the Canada-U.S. border will cause mayhem in return for dubious security benefits.
  
  At a Senate hearing Thursday, Leahy told Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he should reconsider legislation requiring people to show a passport or other secure document when crossing from Canada by the end of 2007.
  
  "We've got an economic and cultural train wreck on the horizon," said Leahy. "I can just see a complete screw up on the border come Jan. 1, 2008. Our closest friend in this hemisphere is going to be, like, what happened? Are we pariahs?"
  
  "It seems like almost doing something for the sake of doing something, not really to protect us."

Just so that everyone understands the consequences for Windsor, here is a great story out of Detroit that will reflect what many Americans will think if they want to make a spur-of-the-moment decision to come to Windsor:

• New-world border: Are issues worth drive to Windsor?
  Laura Berman, Detroit News. April 09, 2006
  
  On a Saturday night in Windsor, the Italian restaurants on Erie Street -- once bustling and lively -- emit a more serene air.
  
  "There's not much overflow," says Joe Fallea, who owns Il Gabbiano, still one of the most popular restaurants on the street.
  
  Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, the cross-border traffic's been in turmoil. Before then, visitors hopped into their cars without giving border guards or traffic too much thought. After, anxieties ballooned.
  
  "Right now, I'm stuck in traffic in Windsor, haven't moved for 5 minutes. That's life. You get stuck on I-75, you don't think anything of it," says Fallea, who recently opened Bona, a trattoria, in downtown Windsor.
  
  His point being: Facing U.S. Customs officials or tunnel traffic bothers us more than everyday traffic jams, even if the wait time is similar.
  
  Friendly, foreign and near as it might be, Windsor's suffering. First, the September 11 horrors stopped traffic, then a war in Iraq discouraged key casino clientele. "A lot of our Chaldean neighbors stopped coming from (the Detroit area) because it was too difficult," says Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis, who says he's heard personally from Americans with Iraqi roots who were anxious about crossing. Then there was the SARS scare -- remember that one? -- and the impact of a sinking American dollar.
  
  The glory days of the dollar that was worth $1.50 in Canada are long gone.
  
  Now looming is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require Americans to carry passports for any Canada or Mexican border crossing by the end of 2007.
  
  How many hurdles do you have to jump for a good plate of linguine pescatore?
  
  After all, only 30 percent of all Americans have passports -- and even the prospect of vitello alla limone is unlikely to provide sufficient incentive for those visitors whose only international travel is the odd Windsor night out.
  
  Windsor Mayor Francis is lobbying for passage of the "Real I.D. Act" -- a proposed U.S. law that would create a standardized U.S. driver's license acceptable for border crossings.
  
  Francis argues that U.S. citizens must use the same ID to acquire a passport that won't be acceptable for border crossings.
  
  A few weeks ago, re-entering the United States from Windsor, I offered the stern U.S. Customs official my passport -- the one I'd grabbed quickly on my way out the door.
  
  She focused, brusquely, on my friend's driver's license, questioning her birthplace, and even our reason for being in Windsor: "It's your birthday?" she asked, interrogating my friend.
  
  Yes. But after our eventual release, I noticed the passport I'd handed over wasn't mine. It belonged to my daughter whose physical resemblance to me is slim: She's Asian; I'm not. She's 5, I'm not. Besides, she wasn't in the car.
  
  So here's our latest border-crossing dilemma: Should you feel more anxious about possible interrogation -- or because Osama bin Laden could probably use a 5-year-old's passport?
  
  Tough call.