Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - What are your thoughts on cruise ships coming to Buffalo? The Erie County Harbor Development Corporation wants to hear your thoughts on Buffalo possibly becoming the next port city for Great Lakes cruises.
In March, the ECHDC approved a feasibility study to determine whether or not Buffalo could possibly get into the cruise ship business, as well as develop a strategy to make a vision become a reality, and determine possible locations of the port. If Duluth, Minnesota has a port for Great Lake cruises, why can't Buffalo?
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An open house will take place to discuss the study in the Pavilion at Canalside on Thursday, June 22nd from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the public to attend.
"We're at the start of this study for cruise ships. We are having our consultant, Moffat & Nichol [Engineering], come into town and give background to the public," says Mark Wendel, ECHDC's Senior Director of Design.
"They're going talk about project goals, possible locations for ports, different types of ports that could be considered, and also start talking about the steps that might be needed to move move this forward."
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This project was put into motion following Governor Kathy Hochul's introducing the idea during a press conference last August, announcing substantial investments coming to Buffalo's waterfront.
This open house will be the perfect opportunity to showcase to the public some ideas M&N Engineering is considering, as well as hear input that could be considered.
In addition, "They will provide what they heard from various stakeholders, peer groups, like Visit Buffalo Niagara, Patrick Kaler, who served as part of the Great Lakes Cruise Commission, was one group of the people that met with them. They're going to give that kind of feedback we got, they're going to present that to the public [Thursday] night. So we really are in the infancy, and this is the perfect time, not to get too far down the road, but to try to start collecting the people's input on how this study can move forward and advancing into the more, shall we say, nuts and bolts, and how a port and size of port would be considered," says Wendel.
As the summer is here and the Western New York weather stays nice, the engineers will be out visiting potential port locations. One of those locations mentioned is the DL&W terminal. As tens of million dollars in renovations are being poured into the restoration and repurposing of the space, it could be just the ticket for big cruise ships to dock.
Several cruise lines operate in the Great Lakes, all with boats of various shapes and sizes. A big part of the study that M&N engineering team is conducting will be contacting these cruise lines, asking whether or not they would consider Buffalo to be their next port of call.
The study, which is to not exceed the cost of $217,387, is expected to be completed before the end of March 2024. From that point on, we could see plans start to be voted on and put into action.
"When we had our first meeting, I wasn't aware of the amount of cruise lines that are already on the Great Lakes that just passed Buffalo by and I think that's what caught our attention. I know that's what caught the governor's attention," says Wendel.
"These boats are out in the water already and they're going down to Cleveland, or they move out to Detroit or another port in Lake Erie. It's not like we're trying to bring something new or non existent, we're just trying to tap into what already exists."
Wendel believes that cruise ships in Buffalo are starting to look more and more like a probability as meetings and discussions continue to develop.
"It's probably more probable, just simply because there's lines out there, but again, when the study comes down, we're going to have to look at the feasibility of it all and where we're going to put it. But, it's exciting to know that there's a growth in this industry. And I think we're catching it at a great time."
Click here for more information regarding the open house and more.