Better information about traffic conditions at the border crossings, coupled with improved coordination for local events and increased customs staffing during busy times, would ease congestion at the Buffalo Niagara region’s international bridges, a new study recommends.
The study, expected to be released within two weeks by the Binational Economic and Tourism Alliance, also calls for increased use of new technology to speed border crossings and inspections, as well as increased use of trusted traveler programs.
“It’s really important that we get this right,” said Arlene White, the alliance’s executive director. “There is no magic bullet here, and we’re all responsible for fixing it,” she said. “We have to pitch in now at the business and community level.”
The economic stakes are high, with the region’s four international bridge crossings ranking as the busiest for passenger traffic and second for truck traffic. An estimated $70 billion in trade crossed the bridges in 2010, down from a peak of $80 billion in 2008. The report said 15% of all trade between New York and Canada crosses the bridges in the Buffalo Niagara region.
But crossing the bridges has become much more complicated because of the heightened security measures that have been put in place since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center a decade ago. Read more here.
