Spreading A "Good News" Border Story

Here is an item from "The Business Executive" that you may find of interest.

Perhaps it provides some positive news about the border for once that should be shouted out to help our City demonstrate that the border is not a block to doing business here.

It is an elaboration of what I first set out in this BLOGsite about quadrupling of capacity at the Ambassador Bridge and enhanced security action due to a new process introduced by the Bridge Co. and Canada Customs. It also means that the existing bridge footprint should be sufficient for years to come without the need to build a huge truck plaza.

Oh well, our Mayor does not want to meet with the Bridge Co. to learn about their achievements. I guess the thought process must be then why should anyone else in Windsor know?

PS. I won't tell you how little this cost to do either. Quadrupling capacity need not cost billions (or millions) either!

As far as I am concerned the border situation has totally changed. If capacity is an issue, the problem has gone. If security and redundancy are issues, the problems have virtually disappeared with an almost reverse-customs set-up. If monitoring is important, then that has been solved. If we want to save taxpayer money, then the Bridge Co. has already done it. If we want improved traffic flow, that is no longer an issue. If we do not want to disrupt thousands of people, homes and business on both sides of the border, then we use the existing bridge footprint. If we want to protect a corridor for the future it has already been identified.

What are we left with...allowing the Bridge Co. to build an enhancced bridge to allow the FAST and NEXUS vehicles their own lanes, allowing a new bridge to be built with a back-up bridge for redundancy purposes (almost like the Sarnia situation)

Oh yes, a small problem: getting Eddie and Council to decide where the new road to the Ambassador Bridge will be built and to stop playing politics. Frankly, it is time for the Senior Levels to make that decsion and start building.

Oh heck, it is only thousands of high-paying construction and spin-off jobs (not minimum wage call centre work) and prosperity while we diversify our economy that are at risk.

And if Sandra, Dwight, Bruce, Jeff, Joe and Brian don't do it now.....THROW THEM OUT OF OFFICE! Stop respecting the process and get off your collective asses and do what you have been elected to do.

Isn't it truly bizarre. On the one hand the Bridge Co. works with Canada to solve the border problem with Canada Customs and on the other fights with Canada (Transport Canada) over the border problem. Isn't it time for some senior mandarins and the PM in Ottawa to wake up!

• New Security measures at Ambassador Bridge
  BY CHERYL VIGH The Business Executive
  
  WINDSOR — New security measures on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge will significantly reduce the hundreds of trucks that must travel two kilometers down Windsor’s busy Huron Church Road to an offsite facility for secondary inspection.
  
  Commercial truck importers and carriers that have not sent shipment information to Canada Customs in advance of their arrival at the border will not be permitted to proceed into Canada. Instead, they will have to return to the U.S. until they have prepared one of six line release options available to them.
  
  Effective April 1, the Security and Service Enhancement Initiative is a joint effort of the Canada Border Services Agency and private company The Canadian Transit Company that operates the Ambassador Bridge, to enhance security controls and expedite the processing of commercial shipments.
  
  This initiative, says Andrea Kent, spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, was developed to address the unique concerns present at the Ambassador Bridge — as the busiest land border crossing in North America for commercial truck traffic and with a secondary inspection facility located off site.
  
  Security initiative will reduce border wait times
  Previously, about 600 trucks per day did not clear primary inspection requiring further inspection or in many situations, inspection from other government departments. The aim of this security initiative is to reduce redirection to secondary inspection for less than 100 trucks.
  
  “This will allow us to do more monitoring rather than have to deal with a large volume of routine processing,” says Kent.
  
  Occasionally, trucks have not shown up at secondary inspection although most upon investigation, do not report to the facility out of error.
  
  “Pre-9/11, if a truck didn’t show up at secondary, we might have lost some revenue. The same can’t be said post-9/11. If a truck doesn’t show up at that facility it’s a whole new ball game,” says Skip McMahon, executive director of external affairs for the Canadian Transit Company.
  
  “From compliance standards obviously it is a concern and we take that issue very, very seriously,” says Kent. She says there are monitoring systems and enhanced physical controls in place to track and search shipments. Monitoring and escorting 50 to 100 trucks per day will make the inspection process more manageable, adds McMahon.
  
  Immediately after 9/11 McMahon says the bridge company put armed guards on both sides and they’ve added fencing, lighting and more surveillance cameras on the bridge and at the plazas...
  
  In addition to enhancing security, this initiative will reduce border wait times for carriers. With carriers and importers using a mandatory line release option customs officers will perform risk management and processing in advance of border arrival. While inspection may still occur, a majority of carriers will not have to travel to the off site facility."