The Rochester Ferry, in better days (i.e., 2005)

Tor-Buff-Chester is the name of the key US megaregion identified by Toronto resident Richard Florida in his new book Who’s Your City?, ranked in his top 10 alongside Char-lanta, SoFlo and Hou-Orleans. Florida cites Rochester’s role as “a leading centre for opto-electronic and research intensive companies,” despite its shrinking population — and the fact that no one in Toronto gives the city any thought.

A new kind of courtship was expected to take shape in the summer of 2004, though, when a $42.5 million 770-passenger fast ferry called The Breeze started running between Toronto and Rochester. Jan Wong of The Globe and Mail was dispatched to survey what was waiting on the other side, and thought the place too beleaguered, infuriating the mayor who pinned all his hopes on the endeavor.  

The service ran for 80 days before it was docked for being deeply in debt, and ordered impounded by a federal judge — the privately-run service had let down the government who bet $30 million of its own dollars on its transformative potential. So, the City of Rochester bought the catamaran for $32 million the following year, and renamed it The Cat. Within months, they lost $10 million more, and a boat that couldn’t stay afloat. Customs costs and regulations on the Canadian side were partly blamed because… well, why not?

Landings constructed on both ends of the Tor-Chester route were forced to languish — though at least, unlike in Rochester, the one constructed by the Toronto Port Authority at Cherry Street made no promises to fast-food franchisees. The vessel itself — as apparently luxurious and comfortable as originally promised — was announced as sold to a British firm for use on the English Channel, but was ultimately bought by German company to run between Spain and Morocco.

Wanting to do something with the facilities, and satisfy whatever demand still exists for a Toronto-to-Rochester route, a Request For Qualifications was issued last month by both sides. They got one proposal — and it involves a hovercraft.

Hover Transit Services is promising a 75-minute trip between the two cities that they claim will be successful, using a hovercraft called the Princess Anne, built in 1968 for use between England and France until the Chunnel took its clientele away. The company also has access to the Princess Margaret, a second model that can be used for backup. An average fare of $30 per passenger is proposed for the journey that will hold 400 to 600 passengers and 55 cars.

“The hovercraft will be equipped with Wi-Fi,” reads the proposal. “Seat backs will be equipped with video monitors for passenger viewing and entertainment pleasure (similar to JetBlue). A simple selection of food and beverages will be available to the customer aboard ship, although HTS anticipates little revenue from the onboard sales of such items, since due to the short trip the passenger will barely have time to enjoy their hot beverage once aboard.”

Markets being served by the hovercraft would include shoppers and day-trippers, tourists and fun seekers and air travelers looking for a cheaper American flight from Rochester, or European access from Toronto. Cargo logistics are also promised. The environmental and economic benefits are detailed, along with an improvement on a ferry that proved to be no quicker than a drive.

The company is run by Dale Wilson of Bolton, Ontario — who didn’t respond to messages today — and his ambition to bring the hovercrafts to Toronto were first stated in a story in The Guardian in May 2005, even if he didn’t necessarily have Rochester in mind. Alan Knauf, a Rochester-based lawyer working with HTS, defended the idea to local reporters questioning its viability, explaining how the venture was viable because the hovercraft was used, refurbished and ready for action.

Paul Morrell, the port operations manager for the City of Rochester, is confident there won’t be a repeat of the ferry debacle, as this is a private venture.

“We’re not going to give this the go-ahead until we’ve surveyed if there’s a customer base and any market feasibility,” he says. “Now that the proposal has been submitted, we’ll try and figure out what can work and what cannot.”

The editorial board of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle didn’t even trash the idea outright — although they pointed out that a city facing a $22.4 million budget deficit and planning for potential layoffs need to proceed with caution.

From the other side of the route, Toronto Port Authority harbourmaster Angus Armstrong doesn’t sound too optimistic: “Hovercrafts are pretty noisy affairs. There are definitely navigation issues, given how they’re not as maneuverable, and also environmental concerns. Fuel would be pretty expensive, too.”

Then there’s the matter of why anyone from Toronto would want to go to Rochester for fun. The best-known employers, Kodak and Xerox, were throttled by changing technology. Jan Wong’s tour of the city highlighted the Garbage Plate (a diner menu item consisting of home fries and macaroni salad topped with a cheeseburger or hot dog), a 30-metre waterfall and the Wegmans supermarket where locals supposedly bring their out-of-town guests.

Rochester does boast a Lilac Festival in May, a Jazz Festival in June, and native son Lou Gramm (formerly of Foreigner) is singing at the Taste of Rochester.

And it was the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony and Wendy O. Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Lithgow, Kristen Wiig of Saturday Night Live and porn star Savanna Samson, Cab Calloway and Tyson Beckford, Kim Gordon and Emma Goldman. Who wouldn’t want to be around that Creative Class?

What, you mean they all left? And they did it without a boat ejecting high-pressure air over the water, even though the first one was launched 50 years ago.

Despite all of its trials and tribulations — like high rates of murder, high-school dropouts and poverty rates — Richard Florida called Rochester the fourth most innovative city in America in The Rise of the Creative Class, while declaring it the 25th most creative. Florida is sticking to his vision, even though he now suggests a more appropriate name for the region might be Tor-Buff-looMon-tawa.

Previously on the Scroll: Richard Florida rules
 

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