Positive Plaza Alternatives

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	Positive Plaza Alternatives The recent strengthening of Canadian currency has more significance than simply more Ontario license plates in local parking lots. If considered and acted upon strategically, it could help provide desperately needed economic diversification to the Blue Water area. I've lived here for 30 years, and tourism has always seemed like an afterthought to the Blue Water area economy. We seem fixated on manufacturing, though manufacturing is already collapsing and will play a diminishing economic role in decades to come. Though there is talk of economic diversification, I hear next to nothing about coordinated efforts to promote tourism. What small efforts there are seem to focus on Metro Detroit, which has economic problems of its own and whose residents seem to prefer spending their tourism dollars in Northern Michigan rather than the Thumb. On the Canadian side of Lake Huron, tourism is a huge economic engine. The coast is thick with resorts, cabins, beach hotels, and other vacation facilities that are in high demand and command good prices. It's easy to see why – that stretch of coast lies within the “vacation radius” of Toronto, which is the New York of Canada. When Toronto residents want to get away to the beach, many of them head for the Canadian shore of Lake Huron. But the American shore is just a little further. With strategic planning and marketing, we could “export” the Michigan shore of Lake Huron to the Toronto market. The combination of the stronger Canadian dollar and lower prices on this side of the Bridge should make the Blue Water area very attractive to Canadian tourists. But to take advantage of this, some things would have to change. One would be investment in suitable facilities. Aging, dingy cabin clusters and strip hotels won't draw visitors across the border. Tasteful hotels, lodges, and landscaped cabin clusters are more appealing to eco-conscious urban vactioners. Given the amount of lakefront acreage on the market between Algonac and Harbor Beach, now is an ideal time for forward-thinking investors to plan for the future. Another necessary change would be in our attitudes toward tourism. We need to take a page out of West Michigan's book. Those communities unite to promote their entire region – not Holland or Grand Rapids or Muskegon, but West Michigan. On the Blue Water coast, we've got bureaus and chambers working for individual cities, but little coordinated effort. We need to think regionally. If we could encourage investment in tourist facilities along our coast from Algonac to Harbor Beach, we could market the Blue Water area to the Toronto region and get a portion of the traffic that's currently going to Huron's eastern shore. The traffic and stronger currency would in turn encourage boutiques, restaurants, and other service facilities. We have to address the border delay problem. Driving three hours from Toronto to spend an hour sitting on a bridge would deter anyone. We have to think of economic development in areas other than manufacturing. We have to think long term – this would be a multi-county, multi-year effort. But we have to do something, and we'd be foolish to ignore the economic dynamo just three hours east of us. Our area has a lot to offer any visitor – we just need to let the right people know about it. -------------------------------------- published in the Times Herald in late March of 2007

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Positive Plaza Alternatives
The recent strengthening of Canadian currency has more significance than simply more Ontario license plates in local parking lots. If considered and acted upon strategically, it could help provide desperately needed economic diversification to the Blue Water area.

I've lived here for 30 years, and tourism has always seemed like an afterthought to the Blue Water area economy. We seem fixated on manufacturing, though manufacturing is already collapsing and will play a diminishing economic role in decades to come. Though there is talk of economic diversification, I hear next to nothing about coordinated efforts to promote tourism. What small efforts there are seem to focus on Metro Detroit, which has economic problems of its own and whose residents seem to prefer spending their tourism dollars in Northern Michigan rather than the Thumb.

On the Canadian side of Lake Huron, tourism is a huge economic engine. The coast is thick with resorts, cabins, beach hotels, and other vacation facilities that are in high demand and command good prices. It's easy to see why – that stretch of coast lies within the “vacation radius” of Toronto, which is the New York of Canada. When Toronto residents want to get away to the beach, many of them head for the Canadian shore of Lake Huron. But the American shore is just a little further. With strategic planning and marketing, we could “export” the Michigan shore of Lake Huron to the Toronto market. The combination of the stronger Canadian dollar and lower prices on this side of the Bridge should make the Blue Water area very attractive to Canadian tourists.

But to take advantage of this, some things would have to change. One would be investment in suitable facilities. Aging, dingy cabin clusters and strip hotels won't draw visitors across the border. Tasteful hotels, lodges, and landscaped cabin clusters are more appealing to eco-conscious urban vactioners. Given the amount of lakefront acreage on the market between Algonac and Harbor Beach, now is an ideal time for forward-thinking investors to plan for the future.

Another necessary change would be in our attitudes toward tourism. We need to take a page out of West Michigan's book. Those communities unite to promote their entire region – not Holland or Grand Rapids or Muskegon, but West Michigan. On the Blue Water coast, we've got bureaus and chambers working for individual cities, but little coordinated effort. We need to think regionally. If we could encourage investment in tourist facilities along our coast from Algonac to Harbor Beach, we could market the Blue Water area to the Toronto region and get a portion of the traffic that's currently going to Huron's eastern shore. The traffic and stronger currency would in turn encourage boutiques, restaurants, and other service facilities.

We have to address the border delay problem. Driving three hours from Toronto to spend an hour sitting on a bridge would deter anyone. We have to think of economic development in areas other than manufacturing. We have to think long term – this would be a multi-county, multi-year effort. But we have to do something, and we'd be foolish to ignore the economic dynamo just three hours east of us. Our area has a lot to offer any visitor – we just need to let the right people know about it.

--------------------------------------
published in the Times Herald in late March of 2007

Positive Plaza Alternatives
Which would be worse? Port Huron getting stuck with an expanded Bridge Plaza? Or Port Huron getting stuck with an expanded Bridge Plaza while reaping no benefit from it?

A serious discussion about how the Plaza Expansion Project can benefit Port Huron and the Blue Water Area.