[manny_santos]

Yep, it's that story that never goes away - the Port Stanley-Cleveland ferry. The new head of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority is reviving the idea:
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/09/29/15525316.html

The Cleveland Plain Dealer also reported on it earlier in the week:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/changes_in_canada_revive_hopes.html

Personally, I'd go to Cleveland if I could get to it by ferry - catch a Jays game when they're playing the Indians, or a Browns game. There's also the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I'll believe it when I see it though. I'm not holding my breath.

[haljackey]

I was in Port Stanley today for a Charrette. Restoring Ferry service would certainly be a boost for the village's economy, especially for the tourism industry.

Heck, it could provoke the London-Port Stanley rail service to be restored and could ultimately encourage a southward extension of the Veteran's Memorial Parkway (VMP).

I'm not promising anything, but with the state of the village I saw today, anything is better than the status-quo. Keeping the "port" in Port Stanley is a must.

[go_leafs_go02]

I'd love to see what the other side of the Lake would be like. Never been to Cleveland, or even anywhere south of Lake Erie.

Definitely would consider taking the ferry for a day/weekend trip - If i lived back in London.

[ForestryW]

Cleveland's a great city and it's clear why Canadians would want to take a ferry to Cleveland rather than driving all the way around through Detroit or Buffalo.

The question is why anyone from Cleveland would want to take a ferry across to Canada.

[MolsonExport]

This would be wicked! Cleveland is so close...yet so far. I am unlikely to visit if I have to drive around the Lake (might as well go to Chicago or Buffalo or Detroit)...but if there was only a 2 hour ferry ride from Port Stanley...well hell that would change everything!

[go_leafs_go02]

Cleveland's a great city and it's clear why Canadians would want to take a ferry to Cleveland rather than driving all the way around through Detroit or Buffalo.

The question is why anyone from Cleveland would want to take a ferry across to Canada.


Whens someone says Cleveland, I think of this:

ysmLA5TqbIY

oZzgAjjuqZM

[MolsonExport]

^I barfed, laughing so hard!!!

[haljackey]

ysmLA5TqbIY

I've seen this before. It's funny. It's also true.

I think they want ferry service mostly for us to go to them. I'm sure a lot of Canadians would want to look at both of their buildings! :haha:

[ForestryW]

Never seen that :haha:

[Kokkei Mizu]

Cleveland's a great city and it's clear why Canadians would want to take a ferry to Cleveland rather than driving all the way around through Detroit or Buffalo.

The question is why anyone from Cleveland would want to take a ferry across to Canada.

Port Stanley, London, St. Thomas, and area is a lot more attractive than people make it out to be. Especially when you compare it to Cleveland lol.

Elgin County has lots of wildlife, virgin Carolinian forest (which is rare), viniards, and other scenic areas. Port Stanley has a quaint small town port feel, with lots of parks, a great beach, and plenty of restaurants and shops to keep you occupied. St. Thomas has a downtown unusually big for its population, with lots of Victorian architecture. There's the old courthouse, city hall, and again, lots of parks. And London has lots of culture, and its own charm.

Also, if people drive over (or if there's a train between Port Stanley and London), Clevelanders could also visit other parts of Ontario like Kitchener, Toronto, etc.

[MolsonExport]

From those (hilarious) Cleveland tourism spoofs, it would appear that downtown London is more hopping than downtown Cleveland.

[manny_santos]

Port Stanley, London, St. Thomas, and area is a lot more attractive than people make it out to be. Especially when you compare it to Cleveland lol.

Yeah, but don't we live in igloos on this side of the lake? :D

[Simpseatles]

I went to Cleveland last summer just to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's pretty much the only attraction there.

Museum was alright , but not as awesome as I'd hoped!

The Ferry would be a great idea, seeing as currently you have to drive all the way around lake Erie to get there.

[ldoto]

Port Stanley and Port Burwell on a list of potential ports of call

Cleveland interests are still assessing whether there is enough interest on the north shore of Lake Erie to warrant a cross-lake ferry.

Officials with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority have retained a consultant to test the ferry waters in places like Port Stanley and Port Burwell and should know by February if it is worth proceeding.

“It takes two to tango here,” Port Authority chief executive William Freedman concedes.

“If there is no partner on the other side we would take a pass,” he said, noting he expects to join consultant Stuart Theis in contacting governments on the Ontario side of the lake.

Theis was retained under a $19,500 contract to revisit a possible ferry plan as the port authority seeks to develop new business. But his work was delayed by municipal elections in Ontario.

“I still think the potential to find users is there,” Friedman told The Free Press.

The port boss conceded freight and trucking are a key requirement in any ferry business plan and he is mindful some folks in Port Stanley don’t want it to become a trucking terminal.

“We are open-minded,” he said. “We certainly wouldn’t go forward if a community said no.”

Friedman said aside from Port Stanley, Port Burwell “is on the list” of potential ports of call on the Ontario side.

Port Burwell recently took a tourism prize from Port Stanley when the Elgin Military Museum decided to locate the decommissioned submarine Ojibwa there amidst municipal indifference in Port Stanley. The cold-war area boat and museum is forecast to draw as many as 100,000 visitors a year.

Interests in Cleveland promoted a cross-lake ferry several years ago but that plan died when the port authority became embroiled in a plan to relocate its harbour eastward along the Ohio city’s waterfront. But that plan died and port officials are taking another look at a ferry service.

Several Ohio proponents of ferries to Ontario note the daily trade of $88 million between the midwest state and Canada’s manufacturing heartland. They argue a ferry would reduce fuel consumption and speed border crossings.

Despite millions poured into harbour improvements on the American side of the lake by the U.S. federal government, Ontario ports remain in need of dredging. And Port Stanley has also been preoccupied with years of harbour ownership talks.

The federal government finally off-loaded the port on Central Elgin in September and has promised to clean it up.

[go_leafs_go02]

It's back!!!!

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/18/18571836.html

Port officials in Cleveland and those responsible for Port Stanley harbour have begun reviewing plans submitted by proponents of a cross-Lake-Erie ferry service.

Two formal proposal packages were received by the Aug. 15 deadline for submissions from interested parties and a third operator is also interested, but is still nailing down a few details.