Watertown Daily Times | Homeland Security issues could swamp bicycle ferry

OGDENSBURG — There are plenty of details to work out before a ferry carries bicyclists back and forth from Prescott, Ontario to Ogdensburg, but the biggest obstacle may be Homeland Security.

Brett Todd, the mayor of Prescott, visited City Council Monday night to present an update on a proposed bicycle ferry between the two cities.

“We’re asking the council of the city of Ogdensburg to formally support the 2019 pilot schedule of the Prescott Ogdensburg ferry project,” Mr. Todd said. “And, I am also here to report some very positive progress on the ferry project from your friends in Prescott.”

Work on the project has been going on for about a year, Mr. Todd said.

Mr. Todd reported that the draft report from a feasibility study was positive enough to convince the committee to move forward with a plan to conduct a pilot project this summer.

The committee is suggesting the weekend of July 19 to 21, which is Founders Weekend in Ogdensburg, and Aug. 2 to 4, which is a civic holiday in Ontario.

The preliminary plan is four round trips on Saturday and Sunday and one or two round trips on Friday to catch an evening crowd, Mr. Todd said.

The proposed boat from the feasibility study would hold 12 passengers and their bicycles.

“One of the major concerns of the committee has been addressing border security issues,” Mr. Todd said. “The Canadian side of our committee just had some great success with Canadian Border Security just last week.”

Canada Border Security has offered to support the pilot project, free of charge, for two years.

“Unfortunately, we have heard over the last couple of weeks that it hasn’t been quite the same positive story on this side of the border regarding United States Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security,” Mr. Todd said. “Requests made by Ogdensburg city officials have not been met with quite as keen a response.”

The requests, Mr. Todd said, came back asking for new facilities and manpower that the committee saw as excessive, especially considering that it is just a pilot program with a limited number of passengers.

In an interview with the Times on Tuesday, Mr. Todd said with people already using the river to cross the border he didn’t see where it would be a great burden on the American side to accommodate the ferry.

“An average family with a pontoon boat can bring that many people into the country,” he said.

Mr. Todd hoped that a resolution passed unanimously by Ogdensburg City Council Monday would assist in getting the attention of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville.

“The issue is trying to work with federal officials to see what we can do to relax some of the protocols on the U.S. side,” Ogdensburg City Manager Sarah Purdy said. “We’ll be in touch with our fellow officials.”

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