Canada Ping!
Posted on 04/29/2013 12:45:29 PM PDT by Squawk 8888
Three U.S. lawmakers have launched a bid to scrap the “dysfunctional” binational agency that has overseen operation of the Peace Bridge between Ontario and New York for nearly a century, part of the escalating fallout from a dispute over planned improvements to the U.S. approach to the crossing that has pitted Canadian board members against their American counterparts.
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority — commonly known as the Peace Bridge Authority — and the key international link it has administered since 1923 have been hailed as symbols of the enduring friendship between the U.S. and Canada after the War of 1812, the key battles of which were fought near the present site of the Niagara River bridge that connects Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y.
But that peaceful coexistence has been strained within the PBA boardroom in recent months, with Canada’s five, federally-appointed members and the five U.S. representatives locked in a deepening conflict over a planned, multimillion-dollar upgrade to roads and facilities on American side of the bridge.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
Canada Ping!
If this is what we argue about then we have a pretty damn good relationship with each other.
That’s nothing, Ohio and West Virginia fought about replacing the Steubenville-Weirton bridge for twenty-five years.
We in Western NY have been watching this Mongolian Cluster F$#k for decades.
As the area is controlled by communist democrats, nothing gets done but they spend a ton of money on studies. Does not matter if it is a bridge, shopping center, data center, manufacturing business, they will study it to death and most businesses just give up.
They futzed around for years on building a new bridge but every study found a problem with the last one being some dingbat birds might hit the cables and kill themselves. Culling out the herd is not really a bad thing.
We do not need a new bridge but a method to get the cars and trucks through the gestapo of inspectors in a more efficient manner. The bridge could easily handle traffic on the busiest of days if the inspections were up to the task.
Meanwhile the Canadians expanded their inspection area, although typical of government, not by enough. Government is quite happy making peons wait for them.
War of 1812 ping!!
Remember the good old days when you didn’t need a passport to cross the border.
Wurly my boy, I live in West Seneca, NY and second your motion! It is a Cluster *&%$! We have Higgins(D), Schumer(D) and Gillebrand(D). What could possibly go wrong?
Squawk 8888 ~: “..and the five U.S. representatives locked in a deepening conflict over a planned, multimillion-dollar upgrade to roads and facilities on American side of the bridge.”
Sounds more like an American U.S. problem.
I do.I did it once...in 1970...just showing my Massachusetts license.Both ways that was enough.But today that might not be practical...not because Canadians have gotten less trustworthy but because non-Canadians might use lax border policies to do bad things to us.And conversely,Canada can reasonably be more cautious *particularly* since that recent arrest of several jihadis who planned to hit a Canadian passenger train.They know that it's not particularly difficult for bad people to breach our southern border and then a trip up I-5 or I-35 and voila,they're in Vancouver,Toronto,Montreal or Ottawa.
I can’t figure out what Cuomo and his pet Republican Grisanti (who switched sides for Cuomo on the gay-marriage vote) are up to.
I think it has something to do with money - reports are that the Bridge Authority has more than enough money in the bank to cover outstanding bonds owed by the authority. The Bridge Authority will dissolve when the bonds are paid offer. The Peace Bridge would then transfer to the NY patronage factory, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.
How long was it that New York and New Jersey fought over the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island? It was surely many years.It took SCOTUS to settle it.
You can still go to Canada without one...just can’t come home
I lived there for 22 years. I miss the food (and a lot of people).
I was born and raised in West Seneca. Left when I was 19. Remember stopping at Ted’s Hot Dogs under the Peace Bridge for a great charbroiled dog with chili sauce. Driving across the Peace Bridge, no passports needed, to go to Crystal Beach, ride the wooden roller coaster (the comet), and bring back fireworks...
On a side note...there's an interesting town in Vermont that sits right on the Vermont/Quebec border.I've been there and the area is crawling with US Border police.The library is situated right on the border...part of it is in the US and part is in Canada.There's also a street there (Canusa Street) where the buildings on one side are in the US and those on the other side are in Canada.I've driven that road...pretty weird.The town's called Derby Line.Look it up someday if you have free time.It's pretty interesting.
“What could possibly go wrong?”
You’re right about “The bridge could easily handle traffic on the busiest of days if the inspections were up to the task.”
My wife and 2 of her friends spent 2 hours in customs last week coming across the Peace Bridge. All 3 have been US citizens for at least 40 years or more. One of the clone they have for inspectors had a hard time believing that Hawaii was a state (wife’s girlfriend was born in Hawaii to Japanese parents), so they all got fingerprinted.
We live in the Town of Tanawanda.
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