Assemblymember Jon Rivera (D) and state Sen. April Baskin (D) are urging the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority to correct a road design that leads to many motorists accidentally crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
Many Buffalonians have a story of an accidental trip to Canada after taking a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge. It’s a common mistake, with as many as 20 drivers making the error each day according to the New York Times.
The road leading to the Peace Bridge from Buffalo’s Porter Ave. once gave motorists an opportunity to turn around, but a 2016 road redesign changed that. A roundabout was added at Porter Ave. with one of the exits leading directly to the U.S. Peace Bridge Plaza. No turnaround option or exit was added.
"It's been an ugly inconvenience for folks that are either from the community and know the intersection well and how to cross over the border, and for folks that are just visiting for the first time," said Rivera.
In a letter to the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, Rivera says the project "produced serious unintended consequences that have yet to be adequately addressed."
The lawmaker proposes a simple fix. To open a gate.
"Right on the corner of Vermont and Busti, there's a gate that one could exit out of. It's wide enough for cars to go through, and to the best of my knowledge, it's simply padlocked," Rivera told BTPM NPR.
The gate is near the Duty Free store on the U.S. Plaza.
BTPM NPR reached out to the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority for comment via email and they have not yet responded.
Rivera's push for change is spurred by federal immigration enforcement tactics under the Trump administration, which he calls "aggressive and unjust." In particular, he cites a recent incident in which a University at Buffalo Researcher was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after taking a wrong turn to the border. As reported by the Investigative Post, Shovgi Huseynov from Azerbaijan was detained despite having no criminal record and being in the U.S. on a visa that allowed him to work in the States through 2029.
Huseynov's legal representative Siana McLean said in a statement, "because of a known and longstanding design failure at the Peace Bridge, [Huseynov] was detained and treated as a potential violator despite having committed no crime. In today’s immigration enforcement climate, these design flaws carry real and serious consequences for real people. This is not a hypothetical problem. The Peace Bridge Authority has been aware of these conditions for years, and corrective action is long overdue.”
