| What was difficult the first year was coordinating the information during a time when security requirements on both sides of the border were undergoing significant changes. |
Boaters and motorists who once crossed the border between New York and Canada with ease now may expect to be questioned and inspected by U.S. and Canadian Customs and Immigration authorities. To help smooth the journey, New York Sea Grant and the Seaway Trail have teamed up to provide cross-border travel tips.
"Up until 9/11 [2001], the border was open, friendly, and easy to cross," says Dave White, New York Sea Grant's Great Lakes program coordinator. In spring of 2002, "we realized our primary clientele – anglers, cruisers, sailboaters – and other members of the traveling public needed to be made aware of the changes they were going to encounter."
After canvassing both U.S. and Canadian officials, an on-line, print-on-demand "Cross- Border Travel Tips" brochure was produced. Because travel requirements can change quickly, White says the easy-to-update format was mandatory.
"Our biggest fear was that we'd produce 100,000 brochures today, and they'd be wrong tomorrow. The use of technology really helped with this project," White says.
Now in its third year, the Web brochure is updated frequently to ensure accuracy, says Kara Dunn, New York Sea Grant press writer. Security officials on both sides of the border review the material before it is posted.
While updating the information is now a matter of "a phone call to the proper officials," Dunn notes that the process wasn't always so easy.
What was difficult the first year, she says, was coordinating the information during a time when security requirements on both sides of the border were undergoing significant changes. "I would say, however, that both the American and Canadian officials were very easy to work with and understood the need to share information with the traveling public."
Much of the information in the brochure comes from U.S. Homeland Security and Canada Customs and Border Protection officials.
New York Sea Grant and Seaway Trail, Inc., a nonprofit tourism promotion organization, provide the information for day visitors and frequent travelers along Seaway Trail, a 454-mile scenic route paralleling Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River.
The information is important to the area, White notes, because tourism helps support the economies of 86 shoreline communities.
To ensure that travelers know about the brochure, press releases are sent out, and information on the site is distributed by state agencies, local chambers of commerce, and businesses on both sides of the border.
White says they know the information is reaching people because the brochure is the most accessed file on the New York Sea Grant Extension Web site. He notes that more than 10,000 copies of the brochure were downloaded in 2003.
"Flexibility and preparedness are key to smoother crossings," White says. "We're helping people understand that they must carry the proper documents, call ahead to check when and where customs agents will be available, and bring a good book or crossword puzzle and games for the kids to ease any waiting on the busier days."
White adds, "These changes are not part of our normal psyche as travelers. The better prepared you are, the more relaxed you will be going through it."
To view the "Cross-Border Travel Tips" brochure, go to www.seawaytrail.com. You also may contact Dave White at (315) 312-3042, or dgw9@cornell.edu. You may contact Kara Dunn at (315) 465-7578, or karalynn@gisco.net.
