Remember the on-again, off-again Cleveland-Ontario ferry proposal? It's back — the idea, at least. Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority CEO William Friedman, who took the helm in June, has commissioned a fresh assessment.

"There is very substantial trade that already exists between Ontario and the United States," Friedman said in the Port's newsletter. "Cleveland has the potential to become a gateway for shipping and passenger travel to and from Canada."

Proponents have long argued that a lake crossing between Cleveland and Ontario would save hours of driving time for commercial transport. The value of trade between Ohio and the Canadian province is estimated at $88 million per day, according to The Free Press of London, Ontario.

One longstanding obstacle to a ferry plan was the lack of a partner on the north side of the lake. The logical choice was Port Stanley, but its owner, the Canadian government, wouldn't hear of it. But in September, the surrounding municipality, Central Elgin, acquired the Port Stanley Harbour lands. In a news release, Mayor Tom Marks explained on reason why — tourism: "We have a magnificent opportunity to develop the harbour properties in a way that guides economic development both in the community and in the municipality as a whole."

In an interview, Friedman sees similar potential benefits for Cleveland. "[Tourism has] always been part of the thinking," he says. "But the business model is such that you really can't get the tourism without the freight [component]. The freight is what makes it pencil out."

Friedman has hired shipping consultant Stuart Theis to reestablish the necessary contacts and take other steps toward updating previously completed feasibility studies. Many details must be worked out, Friedman notes.

"I am pretty bullish on the feasibility," he says, "but there's a lot more to it than that to get there."

Source: Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority
Writer: Frank W. Lewis