This is actually very good news for Buffalo. In my opinion, it’s tantamount to placing the cornerstone on the new Peace Bridge.
WASHINGTON – The United States and Canada on Friday announced a pilot project at the Peace Bridge that will shift U.S. Customs and Immigration officers to Fort Erie, Ont., where they will inspect all U.S.-bound cars and trucks.This means that the primary and secondary inspections of vehicles entering the country being done on Buffalo’s West Side will – at a date to be determined – be carried out at the big preclearance yard across the Niagara River in Canada.
Ideally, when the program is implemented, U.S.-bound cars and trucks will be able to roll across the bridge into Buffalo without stopping for tolls or inspections and proceed directly to the Niagara Thruway or into the city.
Besides making Buffalo a more convenient and economical entry point for commerce and tourism, the move will also sharply reduce pollution and noise from idling vehicles.
(Originally published on December 18, 2004).
At one Armory Hearing I urged the Commission to slow the pace of implementing the US plaza on the basis that developing policy and succeeding administrations could nullify the absolut nullification by the Bush Administration. I was ignored and a couple of years negotiation went out the window on the basis that the Americans insisted border guards be armed.
Now the Canadian are armed and the once intractable barriers to shared inspections have nearly disappeared.
People groan over the slowing of pace of so called progress by long environemtnal reviews but time does have a manner of sifting out artificial incumbrences.
Now I would like to see an up to date traffic survey. It still appears the number of active customs inspectors is a bigger source of traffic pace than volume.
Good heavens!! International co-operation? What will the Repubs say?
Just let this project die already! We already decided not to do anything new so why are we changing customs now?