A FERRY GOOD IDEA MOVES FORWARD: The Port Authority Board took delivery yesterday of its long-awaited feasibility study on Cleveland-to-Ontario ferry service. Bottom line: The market seems to be there for tourists and trucking; the economics look workable; let's move forward to bids from potential operators.

The PD's front page story is here:

A Cleveland-Canada ferry could shove off in two years - a ship that could carry more than 800 passengers and 400 cars and include restaurants, bars, shops and cabins to take a nap.

But no gambling, said Rose Ann DeLeon, director of strategic development for the Cleve- land-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

A $400,000 port authority study recommended a one-way fare between $45 and $55 per person, according to season, and between $25 and $40 for a cabin. The cost of a car would be an extra $50 to $60.

Cost would be about $100 for a tractor-trailer, including the driver's fare, and between $100 and $120 for an RV, but does not include the driver's fare.

The trip would take between four and 4½ hours.

The full 87-page TranSystems study is already posted at the Port's website here.

TranSystem's proposed $45-55 fares are comparable to other trans-lake ferries, but the projected travel time is significantly slower. The new Milwaukee-Muskegon "Lake Express", for example, covers a similar 90+ miles across Lake Michigan in two and a half hours, at $50 per passenger. The difference probably stems from TranSystem's proposal to combine passenger/car and truck service in one vessel, which seems like a good idea to me. But if the trip is going to take over four hours to Port Stanley, it probably needs to be cheaper -- which isn't a bad idea anyway, if the Port wants its ferry to become a routine transportation mode, not just a tourist attraction.

Stay tuned, this is getting interesting.

P.S. Who brought up gambling?