CITY HALL
• New registry for lobbyists to lose boss [ Toronto Star ]
• Watchdog quits in blow to lobbyist registry [ Globe and Mail ]
• City to vote on Ford’s proposal to name streets after war dead [National Post ]
• Can’t stop Osgoode access ramp, city learns [ Toronto Star ]
• Anti-gun petition packs a wallop [ Toronto Sun ]
• A winter of woes [ Toronto Sun ]
TRANSIT
• It’s a whole new Museum Station [ National Post ]
• Is TTC strike imminent? The answer tomorrow [ Toronto Star ]
• Hovercraft transit firm makes bid to revive Toronto-Rochester ferry [ Globe and Mail ]
ARSON
• Man charged with setting west-end fires [ Toronto Star ]
• Burlington man arrested in string of deliberate fires [ Globe and Mail ]
• Arrest in Queen arsons [ Toronto Sun ]
• Arrest made in west end arsons [ CBC.ca ]
DEVELOPMENT
• Big-box battle just heating up [ National Post ]
• Push to convert cycle path to parkland draws protest [ Globe and Mail ]
• Roy square demolition delayed [ National Post ]
7 comments
A Toronto – Rochester ferry would take a few days off a biking trip to the “Big Apple.”
There’s a motif running through the stories of the council cutting the lobbyist registrar’s budget to teach her a lesson and Rob Ford’s efforts to prevent evil NDP-loving councillors from naming streets after commies: it seems that some councillors think that their job is to be obnoxious as possible to the people they’ve decided are their enemies.
It’d be awful enough if it were a small town council fighting over what colour to paint the fire hydrants, but I don’t know how any of the remaining adults on Toronto city council can put up with this nonsense.
Wouldn’t a Toronto-Buffalo ferry make more sense?
Well, yes, a Toronto-Buffalo ferry would make more sense economically. But Buffalo is on Lake Erie, not Lake Ontario, and separated by Niagara Falls.
This is really a chicken and egg problem. If Rochester had the same shops / restaurants / outlets / etc. as Buffalo, this ferry could be successful. But no one will build these shops / restaurants / outlets without the Canadian traffic that only a ferry could provide.
There’s two options, use a Toronto-Buffalo ferry regardless, including joyride through Niagara Falls, OR, make sure Rochester provides amazing chicken wings… traffic will come just naturally after that.
What Diane said. By water, Youngstown is 50km from Toronto, Rochester over 150km so a ferry could make up to three return trips in the time the Rochester ferry made one, although loading and unloading time would probably make it only twice as frequent.
If a roll-on roll-off ferry dock and customs station could be built at/near Youngstown or even Lewiston, targeted at getting the 18 wheelers off the QEW, it could create huge savings in CO2 both directly and by reducing congestion on the highway choke points and at the border.
If the ferry had passenger capacity (beyond a nominal amount for truckers) it could be used to ferry fans en route to Bills/Sabres/Jays/Leafs games through a park & ride and shuttle bus arrangement, as well as Torontonians going to Niagara University. If successful, a “domestic” ferry run could be operated from St. Catherines as an alternative to extending the GO Trains or in addition to them.
Ideally a second ferry, principally for trucks, would operate from somewhere near Pickering to avoid funnelling east GTA/Ontario trucks into the DVP to access the Cherry ferry.
A Rochester ferry from Ontario would make most sense from somewhere like Cobourg but that would really only attract commercial users rather than the tourists Rochester wants.
I would love a ferry to Rochester, though I must admit I’d probably just use it to potentially shave time off of trips to NYC or Buffalo. But, once in Rochester, there’d certainly be no reason not to check it out. At least once.