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Windsor & District Chamber of
Commerce 2575 Ouellette Place, Windsor, ON, N8X 1L9 Tel: (519) 966-3696 Fax: (519) 966-0603 |
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August
30, 2001 Mayor
Michael D. Hurst
via fax: 255-7796 Dear
Mayor Hurst: On
behalf of the Board of Directors of the Windsor & District
Chamber of Commerce, we are writing to state our position regarding
the suggestion of tolling Huron Church Road. We
understand clearly that Huron Church Road is a municipally owned street.
However, and more importantly, this street – through numerous
significant improvements over the past many years – has been transformed
into a six-lane trade corridor feeding traffic to and from the
Ambassador Bridge, which is North America’s busiest international
commercial crossing. This
corridor, which connects to Highway #3 and then to 401, is not only
economically significant to Windsor, but is important to the province of
Ontario and, indeed, to all of Canada. That is why the Chamber strongly
supports the uploading of Huron Church Road to the Provincial Government.
The taxpayers of Windsor should not be responsible for the cost of
highways in our community, which are used primarily as international trade
corridors. We,
as the Chamber, use every tool at our disposal to vigorously promote
Windsor and region as the best place for growth and investment. We,
therefore, firmly request and urge the Mayor and City Council to give
their immediate attention and sustained commitment to resolving the Huron
Church Road matter as suggested. To
attempt to impose a toll on this vital international trade route
would weaken the economy of Windsor and place Windsor’s growth potential
at a distinct competitive disadvantage as com-pared to both Sarnia and
Fort Erie. Furthermore, the imposition of a toll would injure the entire
Canadian export community. It
is the position of the Chamber that the only fair and equitable solution
for the citizens of Windsor, as well as all Canadians, is for Windsor to
insist that the status of Huron Church Road be changed from its current
“municipal road” designation to that of Highway #3. Thereby The
Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce represents 1,400 businesses
that, collectively, employ over 80,000 citizens. Yours
truly, Michael
Robinson cc:
Herb Gray, Deputy Prime Minister
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