By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

A resolution by the Buffalo Common Council that calls for the merger of the two authorities governing the region's international bridge crossings has raised the ire of elected leaders in Southern Ontario.

Fort Erie Mayor Douglas Martin, in particular, said he is incensed at the resolution, unanimously approved earlier this week by the Buffalo Common Council. It calls for a merger of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority and the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission into a binational regional agency.

Niagara District Councilman David Rivera, a co-sponsor, said the intent was to give Gov. Andrew Cuomo a local example of how two authorities with a similar mission can be merged. Cuomo is an advocate of reducing the number of authorities and commissions in New York state.

"We didn't mean to slight anybody," Rivera said. "We did this as our mechanism to show our elected leaders in New York state that we are serious when it comes to merging authorities and agencies."

Martin, however, said he and his fellow Fort Erie council members are miffed.

Privately, some Southern Ontario leaders say the resolution is the latest example of arrogence from Buffalo when it comes to matters concerning the Peace Bridge. Most of the delays connected to the long-proposed expansion project were fueled by concerns raised in Buffalo.

"People in Buffalo have to remember the bridge does land in a different country," Martin said. "For whatever reason, the bridge in Buffalo has always been a contentious issue. This project was ready to go to tender (bid) in 1996 and was stopped because of Buffalo."

Martin was on the Fort Erie council from 1982 to 1994 and is beginning his second term as mayor. He also was a member of the Peace Bridge authority from 1993 to 1997. He routinely meets with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster and Niagara Falls, Ont., Mayor Jim Diodati to discuss regional issues. The Peace Bridge expansion remains at the top of the list.

At the least, Martin said, the Buffalo Common Council should have sent a copy of the resolution to Fort Erie leaders. He said he heard about the resolution from Buffalo-area news reports.

Merging the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission - which governs the Rainbow, Lewiston-Queenston and Whirlpool bridges - with the Peace Bridge authority would take years of legal work and complex provisions in New York, Washington, Toronto and Ottawa.

Rivera acknowledges that. The resolution, he insisted, was intended to send a message to Albany, not start a firestorm between the two border communities. He said he is willing to meet with Martin and the Fort Erie council.

"We didn't mean to offend anybody," Rivera said. "We just want to initiate a discussion. We are just piggybacking off of what Gov. Cuomo wants."

Martin remains skeptical.

"Buffalo calls itself the ‘City of Good Neighbors', but when it comes to the Peace Bridge, they don't know how to be good neighbors," he said.