Tourists untrapped

Could the woes plaguing the Rochester fast ferry be chalked up to our diminishing interest in the United States? Not necessarily due to emerging ideological differences, but the collective weaning off 20th century media conditioning that a third-rate American town was more culturally stimulating than even the most populated Canadian one. In the case of Rochester, perhaps it was the comforting corporate legacies of Corning, Kodak and Xerox; the more exhilarating supermarkets and outlet malls; or those exotic television stations, listed with channel numbers in little white tubes, that no houses seemed to actually receive. Yet, the belated proposal of a 2006 marketing plan targeting people to spend their multi-coloured money across the border doesn’t seem terribly alluring either. Can promoting Rochester Music, Jazz and Lilac festivals possibly motivate any Torontonian to board the Cherry St. express rather than dawdling around this city in summer? Since it was Rochester who built an elaborate waterfront terminal to receive such tourists – disappointing the Bavarian beer nut and frozen custard vendors who rented space there – a proposal requesting $10 million from the city to help steady the ship’s finances is also riding on a surge of new passengers. While initially established as a year-round venture, the ferry has hastily shut down for the year, and is now being winterized three weeks ahead of schedule. Shipping a greater quantity of restless Rochesterites to the 416 area code seems the best this effort can do when it sails again April Fool’s weekend. The folks from Erie, PA venturing to launch more modest ferry rides to Ontario speak of wanting to "capture" those Canadians who are blissfully speeding past. But decades of ironic affection for a sort of Americana kitsch, as transmitted over the border from Buffalo, may be what’s run dry. 

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