Fisking A Star Editorial

I'm sure you remember when one of the Star writers called me a "Fisker" in one of his BLOGs. A fisk if you have forgotten is

• "A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story. A really stylish fisking is witty, logical, sarcastic and ruthlessly factual."

Of course, my BLOGs are very stylish and fit this category perfectly wouldn't you agree.

The Star's Saturday Editorial was so bad that it called on me to fisk it. I had no choice. I wonder who wrote it. It didn't seem in the style of the usual Star Editorial, more along the lines of a Guest Column.

I'm still trying to figure out its timing since there really doesn't seem to be too much on the horizon calling the need for it. I thought that it might have something to do with the MPPs/Mayor's meeting but that seemed a stretch since it was so anti-Ambassador Bridge rather than dealing with roads. I had not heard that the DRIC report was coming out soon so that didn't seem to be the need for it. It did not seem that the Bridge Company's Enhancement Project Environmental Assessment was ready to be approved by the Federal Government so that was out. The only thing that I thought the Editorial was about was to teach Dave Cooke that if he wanted to be in Mayor of Windsor he had better follow the Star's party line or else. Even that didn't seem to make too much sense yet.

By the way, if Dave thinks I am kidding why he need only read Henderson's Thursday column. I cannot believe how ridiculous one man can be with his animosity to the Bridge Company owners. Did you know that one of the reasons that Eddie lost, according to Gord was:

• "what if other board members, mindful of the bridge company's high-stakes standoff with city hall over plans for a second bridge, became nervous about choosing sides in entering a big-dollar partnership with the city? Could ... have worried unduly about alienating their bridge partner."

I'll give you a little secret if you want to save some time. The Editorial is complete nonsense. Don't read it and don't read my comments. Just go right to the bottom of the BLOG and read the last paragraph of the Editorial and my comment on that.

For those of you who are glutton for punishment, here is the Star Editorial and my comments:

"The reason residents of this community aren't more frustrated with government inaction on the border file is because most of us have learned to avoid the big rigs accessing the Ambassador Bridge via Huron Church Road. We read stories about congestion and pollution and the need for a dedicated truck route to a new border crossing but, unless we live in the corridor or are forced to travel through it, those issues have no real impact on our lives. For most of us, the problem is out of sight and out of mind.

[No, the real reason residents are not more frustrated with government is that the Ambassador Bridge Company has solved the problems of Huron Church Road, as most people will admit, by their actions. The opening of four tollbooths at a fraction of the cost of the Eddie/Schwartz Horseshoe road eliminated most of the Customs truck backups.

The Bridge Company has continually been opening up new booths on both sides of the border. The opening up of processing centers, especially one on the US side, has meant that the number of trucks going into secondary inspection has been reduced to a handful per day thereby eliminating the need for a huge Customs Plaza.

The issue of Huron Church Road, as the Star Editor wrote some time ago, is the speed of trucks going on that road. One can hardly say that there is congestion if the Star Editor talks about speeding.

The Bridge Company is its own worst enemy. By acting responsibly in keeping with the border running smoothly it has allowed the Governments at all levels on both sides of the river to dither and delay. It is ironic that by succeeding in being the best border operator in North America it has hurt itself with Governments who are trying to destroy them by taking away their business]

That's why it is difficult for many to understand the opposition of Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis and council to the Ambassador Bridge's enhancement project -- a billion-dollar project that would help ease border congestion and create jobs in a recessed local economy that needs every job it can get. What's not to like about that?

[That is the point that mystifies everybody. It is very interesting to me that the issue of jobs has only been raised recently, including by Minister of Finance Duncan, while the obvious need for a properly running border crossing with thousands of infrastructure jobs being created has been apparent for years.]

For residents of west Windsor, which includes historic Sandwich and the university, the answer is obvious. The footprint of a new span, to be built next to the existing one, would be significant and affect the quality of neighbourhoods and lives. If both bridges ever became operational, the possibility exists for 10 lanes of traffic.

[I am sorry but I do not understand this point. What "significant" footprint? The Enhancement Project Bridge does not require 100-120 acres of land that DRIC said it does. That was a deliberate scare tactic to create opposition to the Bridge Company in Sandwich. The new bridge would fit in within the existing Plazas on both sides of the river as that Star well knows. Again, the Star tries to stir up controversy by talking about 10 lanes of traffic on the bridge, and not on City streets, when the Bridge Company has said that the old bridge would be redundant and only used for limited purposes.]

There are serious environmental concerns with that kind of traffic flowing through the heart of a city and it is distressing to hear claims the Ambassador Bridge is freezing Windsor out of the environmental assessment process. It was also distressing to learn the Ontario government could order a stringent provincial EA but has failed to do so. Local cabinet ministers Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello should ensure one is ordered.

[I did not know that Huron Church Road was the centre of Windsor. I thought that Sandwich was in the West end. Oh please, freezing out the City. You mean the City Council gave the Bridge Company a whole 10 minutes to present their billion-dollar proposal while of allowing their consultants to speak for hours on a road that will never be built. The Bridge Company is complying with the Federal Environmental Assessment Act for heaven sakes. Did the Star forget already what the Bridge Company's President said about these allegations and how wrong they were? I think that the Star should talk to their champion, NDP MP Brian Masse about what his support to Bill C-3 did to a Provincial EA]

But a bigger problem is that the bridge's enhancement project could change the business case for building a third crossing downriver, away from built-up areas. It could also change the business case for constructing a dedicated truck route like GreenLink, which would likely please Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, who appears to favour E.C. Row as the next Huron Church Road.

[The business case for a third crossing... there is none. A third crossing would be a total financial disaster and would bankrupt all of the crossings in southwest Ontario because the traffic volumes are not there as a Star Headline quoted a few weeks ago. In fact traffic is below that of the year of 9/11. Even the Federal Transport Minister has admitted that as have MDOT. The Ambassador Gateway project alone even without a new crossing can handle almost 2 million more trucks that are actually crossing the border now.

The Star editorial is absolutely deceptive with respect to Greenlink. The Greenlink is nothing more than the DRIC road with a few extra Schwunnels that is based on the city's own WALTS proposal. In fact, the Ambassador Bridge Company proved years before that this approach would work to link communities while at the same time allowing for traffic flow and all that has been done is that Schwartz has proven them correct.

As far as EC Row being the new Huron Church, the Star knows that DRIC could not change in midstream or else it would have to an entirely new EA. In fact, Windsorites should encourage the upgrading and reconstruction of the Expressway so that the Senior Levels pay for it rather than us and our taxes. At best, it would be be redundant road to the Enhancement Project bridge if there was a problem.]

The senior levels of government say they are committed to a third crossing in a location that will be announced by a binational group this spring. But the reality is everything changes, likely for the worse, should the Ambassador Bridge take advantage of bureaucratic dithering and follow through on plans to begin constructing a span this fall.

[The reality is that the Senior Levels need to meet with the Ambassador Bridge to try and resolve the issue in the best interests of all the parties and the region. There is no point trying to ignore the bridge that is there now. It is not going anywhere. The Bridge Company has for the last decade been planning to upgrade their crossing. No one has said that they should not do it until the Governments decided that it was somehow in their interest to put the Bridge company out of business. If it was your business would you knuckle under? I'm glad to see that the Star has acknowledged the work will finally be done on the new crossing by the private proponent at its expense this fall]

The possibility exists the enhancement project would derail plans for a third crossing and a dedicated truck route linking it to Highway 401. Trucks would continue rumbling through the city like they have always done and this community would be ill prepared to meet the transportation challenges of the future.

[The Star is mixing apples and oranges. The WALTS/DRIC/Greenlink road can lead to both crossings. The same argument would apply to a new bridge since it only would be located about a mile away from the existing bridge. A new road, something similar to what the Ambassador Bridge proved can be built years ago, would remove trucks from city streets whether a truck would be going to a DRIC bridge or to an enhanced Ambassador Bridge. Unfortunately, the Star has forgotten that 30 to 40% of the trucks that cross the bridge today are "local" international trucks that are essential to our economy. Like it or not, they are going to continue to use City streets because they have to do so in order to serve local industry. No one has ever objected to that and in fact, Council has never opposed their use of the Expressway. If there is a good new road to the crossing, international trucks are going to take it and will not need to go through city streets.]

A new crossing located well west of the bridge is essential to preserve communities and to ensure redundancy in the event of natural disasters or terrorist attacks. It is also essential the crossing be publicly owned. Allowing one company to set tolls and control border access at the nexus of the North American economy seems neither wise nor reasonable. A downriver bridge would provide planners a fresh start to get right all the things that went wrong with Huron Church. They could build a dedicated truck route that facilitates cross-border commerce while creating greenspace.

[Get real about redundancy. If a bridge and Tunnel in Windsor are going to be targetted so will a bridge a mile away. As far as redundancy goes, the old bridge will provide redundancy as well the Tunnel and the Blue Water Bridge. The Star Editor certainly does not understand transportation in southwest Ontario. As far as public crossings go, just listen to the the Star's hero, Sam Schwartz on the NBC Today show. Sam said that "government officials should be taking care of these bridges...we neglected our infrastructure. We didn’t do the very basic things...That’s what we’ve done with our bridges...If you pay a toll, by the way, on a bridge, your bridge is safe. They, they’re taking care of it; they’re doing the daily maintenance."

I just hope the Star recommends that the same people who messed up the Blue Water Bridge which requires a half billion dollar new Plaza and who have not been able to build a bridge in Buffalo for how many years are not involved in some new crossing in our area.

The Editorial is quite disingenuous. What the Governments will do is "own" a DRIC bridge and then turn it over to a private company to run it for probably 99 years just like Highway 407 in Toronto. Financially, since the existing bridge will compete with them, they will go broke because their tolls will be about three times higher than the existing bridge. Or does the Star favor taxpayer subsidization of a private entity? The Star should know was well that generally P3 operators require a monopoly. The last thing that they want is competition because they need to get back the amount of money that they invested and a return on it as well.]

Increasing capacity at the existing bridge before building a downriver span, though, would exacerbate existing problems. Trucks would still use alternate routes -- like Dougall Avenue, E.C. Row, Wyandotte Street and Tecumseh Road -- to access the bridge. And the heavily congested corridor would still divide the city.

[There is no need to increase capacity Mr. Editor and the Enhancement Project bridge does not do so. The existing Ambassador Bridge is only at 50 to 60% capacity and the Ambassador Gateway project without another bridge can handle 2 million more trucks according to the consultant that now works for US DRIC. Can't the Star get it through its head that a new row to the border solves the issue of trucks on City streets or is it your intention to confuse the situation so that no one can understand it?]

While it is true the city's GreenLink plan could lead to the bridge or to the Brighton Beach area, the interests of residents and businesses north of E.C. Row would be much better served by a crossing constructed to the west, away from built-up areas. The best way to ensure a public crossing is constructed that protects this community's interests is to beat the Ambassador Bridge to the punch and get those shovels in the ground with no more delays and dithering.

[Amazing, even the Star picked up on the comment made by the Mayor at Council a few weeks ago which told me that Eddie knew he had lost. The Star knows it now too after Dwight Duncan's outburst saying that "THE MAYOR IS WRONG. THE MAYOR IS WRONG."

Nice to see at the end of the Editorial which most people will not read because it is so excruciatingly long, boring and incorrect that the Star knows what this is all about.

It has nothing to do with the issues that it raised. Those were all red herrings. All the Star wants to do is beat the Ambassador Bridge Company! The purpose of this Editorial is to try to change things. The Star hopes that they can pressure Ontario Transport Minister Bradley who is in the region for the MPPs/Mayors' meeting to convince the Feds to start spending money to beat out the Bridge Company. What a waste of newsprint.]