February 23, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
Peace Bridge faces no-build option
By JOHN ROBBINS
Thursday, February 23, 2006 – 02:00
Local News –
FORT ERIE Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop says it’s too early to say whether another bridge between Fort Erie and Buffalo is warranted.
Based on declining traffic volumes across the Peace Bridge in recent years, there’s speculation an environmental review of plans to expand cross-border traffic capacity may conclude the current bridge is sufficient for the time being.
While Redekop said he still believes another span is needed for a variety of reasons, he cautioned against drawing firm conclusions until the expansion project’s draft environmental impact statement is completed later this year.
“The no-build option is one of the options being studied as part of the (environmental impact statement),” Redekop said Wednesday.
“However, I suspect there are still reasons why a new bridge is neccessary.
“It would be a shame if we’ve gone this far through the process if it turns out there’s no need to build a bridge.”
According to Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority figures, traffic volumes have been declining steadily for the past five years.
Between 2000 and 2005 the number of cars crossing the Peace Bridge declined by 17.53 per cent, trucks by 10.52 per cent and buses by 19.10 per cent.
According to PBA general manager Ron Rienas, there’s reason to believe traffic will continue to decline, at least in the short term.
Coun. Richard Shular, who served on the jury that selected a preferred design for the proposed new companion span, said improvements to the Peace Bridge’s traffic plaza, coupled with a decline in traffic, make building a new bridge less urgent than in past years.
Still, Shular said he believes the traffic volumes will rebound eventually.
“In the next 10 years it’s probably not imperative to have a new bridge, but in the long term there’ll be a need,” Shular said.
He noted the declining traffic count crossing the Peace Bridge hasn’t deterred the Ambassador Niagara Signature Bridge Group, a private company, from developing a rival plan to build a bridge in Fort Erie.
“If they (Ambassador Niagara) are still going to press on with their plans, so should the PBA,” Shular said.
Jim Thibert, general manager of the Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corporation, was more direct than either Redekop or Shular.
“The no-build option is no option at all,” said Thibert.
fenews@nfreview.com
ID- 146432
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 22, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
More paperwork won’t make the U.S. border any more secure
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 – 02:00
Editorial – City tourism officials have been saying it for a while now, but the latest figures from Statistics Canada are further proof fewer Americans are crossing the border to visit this country last year the fewest same-day crossings on record.
There is little doubt the confusion over whether or not passports are required for Americans to get back home has a lot to do with that.
There are other factors, too. Niagara Parks Commission general manager John Kernahan points out that the higher Canadian dollar and increasing energy costs are also playing a role.
Statscan reported Monday that U.S. residents took 15.7 million same-day car trips to Canada in 2005, the lowest number on record.
Overall travel by U.S. residents to Canada, including overnight stays, fell 8.6 per cent to the lowest annual figure since 1979.
Tourism is a huge economic generator for Niagara, especially in Niagara Falls and Fort Erie. Governments on both sides of the border need to find ways to expedite the flow of goods and people across the boundary.
While the U.S. has backed away from forcing everyone entering the country to have a passport (including its own residents), an ID card plan being discussed is just as big an obstruction.
Last week, Stockwell Day, Canada’s new federal minister of public safety, said that sooner or later Canadians will have to carry some form of ID card to travel outside the country.
Day raised the spectre of some kind of biometric approach, but both Canada and the U.S. are still talking.
The terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001 heightened border security concerns and the requirement for government-sanctioned identification followed in the confusing days following the attack.
That’s not to say there shouldn’t be concern and that residents on both sides of the border shouldn’t be more vigilant.
But the people who attacked the U.S. in 2001 were living legally in the U.S. They didn’t cross the Canadians border to get in.
Much has been made about needing foundation documents’ to obtain secure identification to cross the border. What’s to stop someone from getting the ID with forged documents?
In the end, nothing is foolproof.
A passport is the most secure method of identification at the border, but for years millions of Americans and Canadians have crossed the international boundary without one.
A driver’s licence and birth certificate have been sufficient and efficient.
There is no good reason for that to change.
ID- 146208
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 17, 2006
If you would like to see many different pictures of Niagara Falls during Winter, like the one above, please visit the Niagara Falls Picture Gallery.
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
Bocelli gala a first for casino
By COREY LAROCQUE Review Staff Writer
Friday, February 17, 2006 – 02:00
Local News -
NIAGARA FALLS Andrea Bocelli, the world-famous singer, will perform in Niagara Falls later this year in a celebrity gala to raise money for an expanding charity that helps families with children who need organ transplants.
Bocelli’s Sept. 16 performance at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort will benefit the David Foster Foundation. Foster, the Canadian musician, composer and producer, announced the event at a press conference in Toronto Thursday.
Foster told reporters in Toronto he hopes the foundation rather than his musical successes will become his greatest legacy.
“I just think 50 years from now the music will fade, probably. I’m not Mozart,” he said in Toronto.
Because it’s a fundraiser, tickets to David Foster and Friends will be different from other acts the casino’s Avalon Ballroom has hosted.
A $25,000 package announced Thursday includes eight tickets, four rooms at the casino’s hotel or the neighbouring Hilton, eight seats at a gourmet dinner and admission to a cocktail reception with live and silent auctions.
“It’s to raise funds,” said Ontario Lottery and Gaming Co., spokeswoman Teresa Roncon.
It will be the first time the OLGC has joined with a charitable foundation to run this kind of gala event.
The company, which owns Ontario’s casinos, sees it as a chance to showcase the Niagara Falls site.
“This is the right thing to do and it makes good business sense,” said Roncon.
The David Foster and Friends show has been in B.C., for 20 years, but the Niagara Falls show will be the first time they’ve expanded into Ontario.
Bocelli, whose most recent album Amore was produced by Foster, is slated to headline the show, but the David Foster and Friends website says “a star-studded celebrity lineup” will join Bocelli and Foster.
Last year’s performance in Vancouver headlined by singer Josh Groban raised almost $3 million.
Organizers hope the Niagara Falls show will top that, said Norm Kilarski, chairman of the David Foster and Friends gala.
“As we go across Canada, we try to get it in different cities,” Kilarski said.
“We can be doing it two or three years in Fallsview if it works out.”
Foster said he hopes his foundation will stand the test of time even if his music doesn’t.
Foster started the foundation after visiting a four-year-old Victoria girl getting treatment in Los Angeles, where he resides.
The girl, who didn’t survive, told Foster her biggest wish was to see her sister who was stuck back home.
“I realized that for the price of an airline ticket, which back then was $60, I could make this young four year old’s greatest wish come true,” recalled Foster.
With files from
The Canadian Press
ID- 145656
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 16, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
NPC plans Table Rock House revamp
By COREY LAROCQUE
Thursday, February 16, 2006 – 02:00
Local News -
NIAGARA FALLS Sprucing up Table Rock House and developing an interactive hydroelectricity museum at the Canadian Niagara Power plant are among the ideas the Niagara Parks Commission will consider this year, says the agency’s chairman Jim Williams.
The commission has been under pressure to increase revenue, but has learned local residents expect “creative, yet tasteful” attractions, Williams said during a speech at a chamber of commerce reception Wednesday.
“Table Rock is a prime locale and destination for five million visitors who come to Queen Victoria Park,” Williams said.
Despite the unrivalled view from the second-floor Table Rock restaurant, it is “unknown to many visitors” who shop in the ground-floor stores, Williams said. Its retail stores haven’t kept pace with changes in that market. The last renovations to the building, which sits metres from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, was 15 years ago.
“It is no longer the stately facility it once was,” Williams said after his presentation.
A renovation would be timed with improvements to the inclined railway. An “all-season” crossing over the Niagara Parkway could bring incline railway users right into the second floor of the Table Rock House, Williams said.
The parks commission hasn’t looked into the timing or costs of renovating Table Rock House, he said.
The hydroelectricity museum is an idea the parks commission has considered for years. Other agencies like Ontario Power Generation have been interested in creating a museum to explain the importance of electricity to Ontario’s past, present and future, Williams said.
“We think that’s a natural for it to be in Niagara Falls.”
With the commission poised to take over ownership of the Toronto Power and Canadian Niagara Power generating stations, one of those historic buildings could become a museum. The Canadian Niagara Power station on the west side of the parkway is in “pristine shape,” he added.
Williams compared the museum concept to the Ontario Science Centre because it would have interactive elements and a “thrill element.”
“This site will be what museums aspire to be.”
Like the Table Rock expansion, the hydroelectricity museum is still just an idea.
“It’s a design concept we’re doing due diligence on,” Williams said.
The commission would need provincial government approval to borrow the money for those projects. Commissioners and staff are not yet at that point, said Williams.
But the projects fit in with the commission’s mandate to preserve the area around the falls, enhance visitor experience while remaining financially self-sufficient, he added.
The commission will also study the possibility of adding accommodations to the Legends on the Niagara golf course.
They recently arranged to add a Jim McLean golf school at the course.
Building a 70-room inn on the golf course to offer “play and stay” packages to golfers is an idea commissioners will pursue.
But it would be aimed at a small number of golfers.
“We’re not in competition with the hotel industry (in Niagara Falls),” Williams said.
ID- 145461
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 11, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
Bring back glory days
By COREY LAROCQUE Review Staff Writer
Saturday, February 11, 2006 – 02:00
Local News -
NIAGARA FALLS A return to the “fabulous Thursday nights” city residents enjoyed on Queen Street in the 1970s is possible if city council embraces an American investor’s plan to revitalize downtown, says Joe Talarico.
“We want to bring back the glory days of Queen Street for our local residents,” said Talarico, the spokesman for a new citizens group that urged Mayor Ted Salci Friday to work with the group of investors that stepped forward in January.
People for Downtown held a rally on the front steps of City Hall Friday afternoon. They told Salci they support the proposal New York City businessman Aaron Lichtman presented to the city in January.
Lichtman and a group of unidentified investors say they can bring about $100 million in private investment to create a new retail and entertainment district. But the right conditions have to be in place, including an estimated $35 million in public improvements, such as a parking garage, three new parks, road realignments and wider sidewalks.
Salci said the city wouldn’t be required to come up with the money all at once because the public improvements would occur over a three-year period.
The city will also ask the federal and provincial governments to contribute to the project.
The mayor urged members of People for Downtown to convince other residents the proposal from Lichtman’s consortium deserves council’s support.
“The obligation I ask of you is to go out and spread the word tell others,” Salci said.
Salci said any investment the city makes in public areas will be recovered from higher property assessments after Lichtman’s consortium builds condominiums and improves commercial properties.
“The money will be there in future assessment returns. There’s no question,” Salci said.
Council might need to consider Lichtman’s plan separately from the 2006 budget deliberations, so the budget isn’t delayed while politicians decide what to do about downtown, Salci said.
Lichtman had been scheduled to speak at the city’s budget meeting Monday, but council members were told Friday his presentation would be postponed.
After Lichtman’s Jan. 23 presentation, Ald. Carolynn Ioannoni asked him to return with more information about who his investors were and where their money was coming from.
Ioannoni, who did not attend Friday’s rally, has questioned whether the city can afford the $35 million Lichtman’s group proposes.
“How much are the taxpayers willing to bear for the revitalization of the downtown?” she said later.
Council should consider the downtown proposal along with the 2006 budget because one will affect the other, she said.
As Talarico stood outside City Hall, he presented Salci with a brick he said had been recovered from the rubble of the old downtown firehall demolished 40 years ago.
“This brick saw the heyday and the peak of our downtown, then saw the downtown’s down turn,” said Talarico.
Citizen lobby groups have become common in Niagara Falls, where People for Downtown is at least the fourth in four years. Niagara Falls Citizens for Democracy formed in 2002 in a failed bid to preserve the ward system. Preserve our Parks mobilized against the Niagara Parks Commission’s plan in 2004 to build a cable-car ride in the Niagara Gorge.
And Fair Share emerged last year to push for Falls Management Co., to deliver on a tourist attraction promised in the company’s 1998 contract to operate Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort.
Many of the people on the steps of City Hall Friday were also members of the other groups.
“Our core is the same and we pick up people on different issues,” Talarico said.
ID- 144844
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 9, 2006
Printed from Hospitality-1st.com
“Stay 2 Times, Earn a Free Night” with Choice Hotels This Spring
Travellers Can Use the Free Night at over 1,000 Hotels
Toronto, ON – February 2006
This spring Choice Hotels Canada Inc., is offering the popular “Stay 2 times, earn a free night” promotion to members of the Choice Privileges rewards program. With this promotion travellers qualify for a free night’s lodging at more than 1,000 hotels after two separate stays at any Comfort, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion or MainStay Suites brand hotels in North America or any Econo Lodge or Rodeway Inn in Canada. The addition of Canada to the Choice Privileges program in December 2005 means that members can earn and redeem points at more locations than ever before.
“‘Stay 2 Times. Earn a Free Night.’ offers great value for business and leisure travellers alike,” said Tim Oldfield, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing for Choice Hotels Canada. “We’ve run similar promotions in the past which have been phenomenally successful but with the addition of our Canadian hotels to the Choice Privileges program means our customers can benefit even more from every stay throughout North America. And there’s no limit on the number of free nights a traveller can earn.”
To participate in the promotion, which runs February 1 through April 15, 2006, guests must be members of the Choice Privileges rewards program. Guests may join Choice Privileges upon check-in or checkout, or at choiceprivileges.com, and their stay will count toward the promotional free night. Members who stay on two separate occasions at any Comfort, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion or MainStay Suites in Canada, the U.S., Caribbean or Mexico or Econo Lodge or Rodeway Inn in Canada will receive bonus points. Along with points earned from the original two qualifying stays, the bonus will give members enough points to redeem a free night on a future stay at more than 1,000 Choice brand hotels throughout Canada, the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico.
Members can also use the points they earn during the promotion for room nights, airline miles, or gift certificates from nationally recognized retailers. Members of the Choice Privileges rewards program can take advantage of special benefits such as express reservations, express check-in, free local phone calls and incoming faxes, complimentary newspaper and extended checkout.
Travellers may learn more about the advantages of Choice Privileges membership by visiting www.choiceprivileges.com, calling 866.283.3510 or by inquiring at the front desk of any Comfort, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion or MainStay Suites brand hotel in North America or Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn hotel in Canada.
Choice Hotels Canada Inc. (CHC) is the largest hotel franchisor in the country with over 275 properties representing seven brands from coast to coast, including Comfort, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn. CHC is part of Choice Hotels International, which has 5,000 properties worldwide. Further information about CHC and its locations can be accessed by visiting www.choicehotels.ca or by calling 1.800.4.CHOICE (1.800.424.6423).
For more information, please contact:
Choice Hotels Canada
Daniel Young
Communications Manager
Tel: 905-624-7762
Choice Hotels, Choice Hotels Canada, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and 1.800.4.CHOICE are proprietary trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels Canada Inc.
To take advantage of this special in Niagara Falls, be sure to check out the Comfort Inn or Quality Inn on Clifton Hill.
©2006 Choice Hotels Canada Inc. All rights reserved.
February 3, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
Foghorn may blow again
Friday, February 03, 2006 – 02:00
Local News – FORT ERIE The deep baritone sound of the original Point Abino Lighthouse foghorn may once again echo across Fort Erie’s shoreline for the first time in more than 30 years.
A group of historical preservationists has taken up the task of rebuilding the foghorn and the almost century-old equipment that powers it.
“We thought this would be an interesting project,” said Rick Doan, who together with Paul Kassay, just completed work on a restoration of the propeller from the S.S. Canadiana.
The Canadiana memorial is located at Waterfront Park, in Crystal Beach just across the bay from the Point Abino Lighthouse.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the foghorn going again,” said Doan. “If we do, it’s not going to be blowing on a regular basis, but to hear it blow on special occasions would make a lot of people happy.”
The lighthouse was built in 1917, as a warning beacon to prevent ships from running aground on the rocky fingers of the Point Abino peninsula.
The foghorn sounded during rough weather, when light from the beacon was difficult or impossible to see.
Its deep, wavering sound could be heard in Ridgeway, and sometimes Buffalo.
The original fog horn was replaced with modern equipment sometime during the early 1970s.
Earlier this week, Doan, Kassay and other members of a local group dedicated to preserving and promoting the lighthouse as a heritage site made a visit to the lighthouse to get a better sense of what needs to be done to restore the equipment.
They discovered the foghorn and its equipment is corroded, but in fairly good shape.
Through a contact at the Canadian Coast Guard, they have secured a set of engineering blueprints for the device, which will be used to compare the original design to the existing configuration. Doan is certain at least one part of the equipment is missing, but he hopes to find, or if necessary, fabricate a replacement.
The team is also looking to recruit the services of a plumber to reconnect pipes that link the horn to its air compression system.
The Point Abino Lighthouse was dedicated as a National Historic Site after its decommissioning in the 1990s. It was purchased by the town three years ago.
ID- 143665
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
February 2, 2006
Printed from Niagara Falls Review
Will Peace Bridge expansion ever be completed?
Thursday, February 02, 2006 – 02:00
Editorial – Fort Erie and Niagara residents are wondering today if they will ever see the Peace Bridge expansion completed at least in their lifetime and what exactly it will take to see the crossing linking south Niagara with Buffalo become a reality.
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, as it is called, has done just about everything that has been asked of it to push plans to expand the border crossing. Plans to twin the Peace Bridge were shot down and the authority embarked on a lengthy public consultation process to come up with a new plan.
Last December, a panel even voted on a preferred design for a new span.
Now we learn an environmental review of options to build a new bridge are in limbo, partially because Canadian and U.S. authorities have been unable to settle the details of a shared border management pilot project and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has yet to outline the amount of space and type of facilities it would need should a new bridge be built. In fairness, it wouldn’t be able to determine its needs until the shared management project details are ironed out.
The bridge authority has gone to great lengths to avoid the type of traffic congestion problems that plagued the span.
In the meantime, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission has completed a fifth lane on the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge to deal with increased traffic flows. There have also been improvements to the approaches on Highway 405.
There is still a need for an expanded border crossing at Fort Erie, especially if Niagara has hopes of luring auto manufacturers or parts makers here.
Toyota has already decided to build a new plant near Woodstock, along Highway 401. Surely the border crossings in Windsor and expanded crossing at Sarnia give quick access to U.S. markets.
The fact there is limited capacity at Fort Erie would be a negative reason for a large manufacturer to locate here despite proximity to the border.
Commercial traffic appears to flowing more smoothly for the time being. What’s in place now is a stop-gap.
A more permanent solution one that will take us well into the future is still needed.
That won’t happen unless the crossing in Fort Erie is expanded.
ID- 143441
© 2006 , Osprey Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Niagara Falls Review acticles reprinted with permission by the authority of Joe Wallace, Managing Editor of the Niagara Falls Review.
Click here for more information on the Peace Bridge and its developments
