Windsor's Growing Pains

The most prevalent issue facing Windsor and Detroit communities has become one of defence in the new global order. Above all, it is crucial that we take the necessary steps to preserve and nurture both our abilities to remain economically competitive and to ensure our place at the table of power in political negotiations. This can happen by cooperating at multiple levels of government to take actions and secure the flow of commodities through our international borders, ensuring that our critical infrastructure is not allowed to become privately owned. Solutions need to be agreed upon so that we take the steps to provide room for the expansion of global trade. However, there are many political hurdles which need to be surpassed so that we may succeed in such an endeavour.

There are several issues to consider when attempting to put together the pieces of the puzzle which make up the controversial new crossing between Canada and the United States. First, it is wise to consider the historical evolution of the 78-year-old Ambassador Bridge. It originated as a project to create work for locally unemployed citizens on both sides of the river. While, initially it was designed for the flow of traffic, by 1961, there were only 800 trucks crossing daily. In the early 1990's this figure had risen significantly to approximately, 8,000 trucks daily and gradually peaked at roughly 14,000 trucks per diem. It is important to understand that the integrity of this piece of infrastructure is not designed to support such a high volume of traffic. Roughly 12,000 trucks pass daily, which adds up to an estimated $60 million dollars a year.

Originally this border crossing was a combined public and private venture. During the Depression, when the first owner sold shares to avoid bankruptcy, the Ambassador Bridge became a publicly traded company. For a while, in the late 1970's the largest investor was Warren Buffet, who owned twenty-five percent of this important border crossing. In 1979 Manuel (Matty) Maroun, a Detroit native, purchased the farmer’s remaining shares of stock for $30 million dollars in U.S funds.

As the world's economy continues to grow with enormous pressure from the global marketplace, various tactics have been adopted to protect regional populations. Similar to the European Union, there have been negotiations for a North American Union which would solidify trade between Mexico, United States and Canada allowing a stronger role in world economics. In fact, there are plans to extend a superhighway all the way from Montreal to Tijuana which will directly impact Southern Ontario by increasing the current flow of trade through the Windsor Detroit crossing, which is currently responsible for forty percent of the commodities flowing into Canada. There are also negotiations for a new currency named the Amero which is supposed be introduced to stave off the collapse of our currencies. In light of such issues facing the continental political economy the amount of traffic predicted to come through the border will undoubtedly surpass the Ambassador Bridge's current capacity.

When the City of Windsor was first designed it grew without any conception of the fact that it would be as large as it is today. In the 1960's South Windsor houses were built without considering the impact that they would one day face as high volumes of traffic would eventually push through their neighbourhoods. Instead of restricting specific areas to be zoned for industrial and commercial use, many districts became residential and now the problem has magnified even larger. Despite the fact that the E.C. Row was constructed in order to facilitate transportation, the 401 Highway was stopped just beyond city limits as residents did not want to be affected by noise and pollution affiliated with a highway next to their homes. As a result, any trucker heading from Highway 401 to Detroit must follow two city streets, first Talbot Road and then Huron Church Road. Trucks then pass through 17 traffic lights, resulting in an exorbanant amount of pollution impact for citizens of Windsor.

Although it is understandable that people do not want to live in such close proximity to moving traffic, it is not feasible to expect South-Western Ontario, as the hub of economic trade for all of Canada, will be able to flourish without compromises. The city is growing and it is essential to decide where to make sacrifices. Most importantly, we cannot allow the new border crossing to continue to be privately owned. Out of more than 130 border crossings between Canada and the US, the Ambassador Bridge is the only owned by a private individual. Despite the fact that this company will not release maintenance records, they claim that the 78-year old bridge simply costs too much money to upkeep. Critics suggest that this is merely a ploy to maintain its stranglehold of international crossing revenues by warranting its "twinning".

The company also refuses to let law enforcement officials onto the bridge to monitor trucks which could be potentially carrying explosives, toxic waste or other materials banned by law from crossing the border. In lieu of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre, issues compromising security are simply unacceptable. For quite some time after this devastating event trucks were backed up for kilometres on Huron Church Road. On some days it took 12 hours for a truck to get trom Windsor to the US Customs on the other side.

Maroun is now proposing to pay the City of Detroit to take over management of the US side of the Detroit-Windsor car tunnel. He's suggesting to funnel its traffic along a secure corridor to the new customs plaza on 80 hectares of Detroit industrial land, most of which he already owns. His plan entails 100 customs booths, doubling the current number on both sides of the border as a means to dramatically reduce crossing times.

“Windsorites” are not unfamiliar with adversity. There are many examples when we have come together as a community to get through tough times. Mayor Eddie Francis summed up much of the sentiment experienced by Windsorites when he acknowledged, "Yes, we've got explosive growth. Yes, things are going well for trade and commerce. But it shouldn't be on the backs and shoulders of Windsor residents. Why are they not entitled to the same quality of life as anyone else in the province?" We are currently experiencing a period of transition and uncertainty. We are changing from being a manufacturing city into a knowledge-based consumer society. It is possible for us to find solutions which will have low-impact upon the quality of our lives if we are patient and open-minded. We must not make the same mistakes that we made before by instead considering the impact of our future growth. By looking to the example of the Peace Bridge in Ohio we can gain a glimpse of what Windsor's new border crossing will be like as one regulated by a Port Authority.

According to the “Border Transportation Partnership” there is an estimated $40 million in profits to be gained by a new span. Without another crossing, Michigan and Ontario will lose 48,000 jobs a year by 2020. In conjunction with Asia-Pacific's emergence as an economic powerhouse, Canada could be in a lucrative position if we are prepared. We must strengthen our regional economy and our quality of life by getting ready for the future.