May 23, 2000

Michael Hurst
Chair
Windsor Tunnel Commission
350 City Hall Square West
c/o City Administrator’s Office
Windsor, On   N9A 6S1

Dear Mike:

I am writing to request your assistance in ending a very serious situation which is affecting not only the economic well being of our area but its reputation as a welcoming and convenient international gateway.

I refer to the continuing lack of sufficient Canada Customs and Revenue Agency inspection staff at the Canadian side of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.  This is causing significant and often unbearable congestion which not only fills the tunnel bumper-to-bumper with vehicles but backs up to disrupt traffic flow on the downtown streets of the City of Detroit, Michigan.

Among the many results from this unfortunate and entirely preventable situation is a growing perception on both sides of the international border that to use the Windsor-Detroit tunnel is to invite irritating and costly delay. 

Citizens of both Canada and the United States, along with international visitors, are deserting the tunnel in massive numbers.  The first three months of the year 2000 saw a 13 per cent decrease in vehicle usage compared to a year earlier.  This translates to direct losses in revenue for the City of Windsor, and to significant shortfalls for those very numerous Canadian business and commercial enterprises which benefit from an efficient flow of traffic through the tunnel.

The lack of a sufficient number of inspectors at the Windsor plaza is, the Chamber submits, an entirely unnecessary situation for our community and those people and businesses we hope to attract to it. 

Many motorists who spend lengthy times waiting on the streets of Detroit, in the tunnel itself, or in the Windsor plaza area, observe the numbers of inspection booths which are unstaffed even at peak traffic periods.  Obviously, using the tunnel is an experience which they remember and have determined in increasing numbers not to repeat.

The solution is simple.  The Government of Canada must provide sufficient funding to hire and train many more inspectors for the Port of Windsor. 

The members of the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce urge you to take all possible measures to ensure that the intolerable situation of lengthy delays at the Windsor-Detroit tunnel does not continue.

As the “Voice of Business”, the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce represents over 1350 business members who collectively employ over 80,000 people in the Windsor and Essex County area.

Sincerely,

James E. (Ted) Farron, Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce