Security As The Anti-Bridge Co. Weapon

We've heard it all before with Senator Kenny's Report. Now as a last-ditch argument it--security--is being brought up in Michigan. We need another bridge for security reasons we are told.

Shhhhhh, let's keep it between ourselves. Reverse-customs would solve the problem but why should we have it? Seriously, security these days has to be a non-issue since Shared Border Mangement was turned down recently at the Peace Bridge but it is a big deal here.

Of course the Bridge Co. has been advocating for it for years but why listen to them. Frankly, if there was reverse-customs at the Bridge would anyone use the Tunnel since it does not seem to have the space for it now.

Is the failure to implement reverse-customs merely a "competition" matter. If there was Shared Border Management at the Peace Bridge, then the Governments would be forced to allow the Bridge Co. 200 booth proposal to move forward wouldn't they. Why that might even help the flow of traffic and hurt the need for a "public crossing!

Surely, if one talks security, why doesn't Mr. Tobocman talk about the unique security risk at the Tunnel if he is so concerned and demand action there? The reason should be obvious.

Here's the latest scare story:

• Tobocman Challenges New Ambassador Bridge
  MIRS Capitol Capsule, Friday, May 4, 2007
  
  A Detroit lawmaker said he is shocked that the federal government is considering a private plan to build another bridge between Detroit and Canada when plans are proceeding to construct a new span with public funds.
  
  House Majority Floor Leader Steve TOBOCMAN (D-Detroit) said the proposal offered by Manny MAROON, who owns the Ambassador Bridge, has already been rejected because building two bridges adjacent to each other is a homeland security risk.
  
  "Frankly, I'm a little shocked by how our federal government has been evaluating it," Tobocman said. "It puts our security at risk to build two huge assets right next to each other...
  
  Tobocman has his own ideas and his own efforts on what should be done to connect Ontario and Michigan, but Stamper said claims of a homeland security risk are Tobocman's own opinion and not based on any official information he's received. His bridge has its own security officers patrolling it at all times.
  
  The Ambassador Bridge folks have been in the process of building another span since the early 1990s and have steadily received the necessary Department of Environmental (DEQ) permits and presidential clearance. The Department of Transportation has written the U.S. Coast Guard to say the plan is fine by them.
  
  "Steve is twisting something here," Stamper said. "I don't know what to tell you."
  
  What is Tobocman's solution to the security issue:
  
  "Tobocman said he favors another site about a mile downriver from the current Ambassador Bridge."

So is a mile separation the answer? Hardly! It is not realistic at all to consider that moving the new crossing a mile away would solve the problem given the multi-targt approach used by terrorists. So how many bridges should we build here so we would feel secure? Here is a story that demonstrates this perfectly:

• Crossings searched; Anonymous threat forces closure of bridge, tunnel;
  Windsor Star 10-20-2001
  
  A threat to blow up bridges in the U.S. caused the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor-Detroit Tunnel to be shut down for about half an hour Friday afternoon.
  
  Federal Customs and Immigration officials in Canada and the U.S. sent out an alert at about 2:30 p.m., advising bridge officials that an anonymous threat had been made against the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, a bridge in Laredo on the Mexican border and against a "crossing facility" on the northern border.
  
  "The threat was for something to happen at 3 p.m. so we thought it prudent to clear the bridge to ensure people's safety," said Ambassador Bridge Co. vice-president Remo Mancini.
  
  Motorists entering the United States found themselves speedily waved through customs by agents who barely glanced at ID cards. Once the bridge was closed, oncoming traffic was backed up on to the freeways.
  
  Dan Stamper, president of the Detroit International Bridge Co., said security officers did a visual sweep of the bridge as well as a sweep with metal detecting equipment.
  
  At the bridge were Detroit firefighters, customs agents, Army National Guardsmen and officers from the Wayne County Sheriff's department. They did not appear to be searching for anything in the plaza and stood on the road leading to the bridge until the all-clear was given after 20 minutes.
  
  When asked if she was nervous, one customs agent nodded quietly. Others said they were expecting some sort of disruption to occur eventually.
  
  Bridge traffic was congested for about an hour but began to clear soon after the alert was cancelled.
  
  The tunnel was also closed and evacuated, from 2:50 to 3:20 p.m. to allow a team of officers from the Detroit police department to sweep the facility, said Carolyn Brown, director of administration for the tunnel.
  
  Brown said the threat to a "northern border crossing " was taken "very seriously" and the tunnel relied on "high alert" procedures that have been in place since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Under those procedures, she explained, the tube and the plaza at either end of the tunnel were evacuated and staff moved outside the perimeter. Then the police officers, in two trucks, entered the tunnel.
  
  She said all traffic entering and inside the tunnel is under surveillance at all times from a bank of cameras monitored at four positions. There were no special precautions taken to check vehicles entering the tunnel after the tunnel reopened.
  
  Following reopening, traffic faced a half hour wait at the tunnel. By 4:20, one hour after traffic began moving again, the holdup remained a half-hour.
  
  A third border crossing, the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia-Port Huron was closed, but none of bridges in the Niagara Falls area were shut down, said Mancini.
  
  Stamper said the incident again highlights the urgent need for people and cars to be checked before they cross the bridge or enter the tunnel. Truck drivers echoed Stamper's concern and calls for reverse inspections.
  
  "I believe that the two customs booths should switch sides," said Rob Grieve, who drives for Mastronardi Produce in Leamington. "Anything could come across on anyone's trailer."
  
  Ken Mailloux, driving from Chrysler's minivan plant to Michigan, said it's unnerving to be stopped on the bridge or in the tunnel. "Security is always on your mind, especially with what's been going on over the past few weeks," Mailloux said.
  
  The Ambassador Bridge now hires off duty Windsor Police officers and has a permanent armed, private security force which patrols the bridge 24 hours every day.
  
  "We also have other security measures in place but we're keeping them private," Stamper said. "We want people to feel safe and get the economy moving."

My suggestion for Mr. Tobocman---Do what Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in Buffalo who supports Shared Border Management is doing instead of introducing useless Border Authority bills:

• "I will continue to fight for common-sense solutions to Northern border problems that will keep us safe while defending our economy from self-inflicted harm.