FOCUS: Memorial Day
Start your engines! Summer is near
Holiday, lower prices at pumps spur travel
What a difference $1.45 makes. That’s how much more motorists were paying for a gallon of gas a year ago, when the price at the pump averaged $3.95 at the start of Memorial Day weekend.
It’s also the main reason why a modest increase in road trips is expected this holiday weekend, despite a poor economy and a 30-cent-per-gallon increase in the price of gasoline over the past month, to about $2.50.
“Memorial Day is considered one of the busiest holidays because it’s the unofficial kickoff to the summer driving season,” said Shaun Seufert, spokesman for AAA of Western and Central New York.
Donna Woodruff can see that. She has 25 animals staying at her Sundance Kennels in Hamburg, twice what she had last Memorial Day weekend when fewer of her pet owners went away.
The elements also are supposed to cooperate.
“The overall weather will be nice,” said meteorologist Chuck Tingley of the National Weather Service. He said to expect a partly sunny day today with highs in the low 70s, although there is a 30 percent chance of showers.
Sunday is expected to be sunny with the temperature in the high 60s, and Memorial Day is also expected to be sunny and reach 70 degrees, the average regional temperature for the holiday.
Motorists headed for Canada are advised to check bridge conditions first.
There was considerable traffic last weekend on the four bridges linking the Buffalo Niagara region with Canada due to that country’s Victoria Day holiday, according to Janice Thomson, a commissioner with the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission.
She suggests that motorists go to niagarafallsbridges.com, or call (800) 715-6722 and press 2 for current automobile traffic information. Information is provided for the Rainbow, Whirlpool, Lewiston-Queenston and Peace bridges, and is updated frequently.
“The differences can be huge. It might be two hours on one bridge, and 20 minutes on another, so that’s where those options are great to explore,” Thomson said.
The best option, she said, is using the Whirlpool Bridge if you have a Nexus card, since it is a Nexus-only bridge with a crossing time “always less than a minute.”
Brent Gallaugher, manager of agency relations and security for the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, suggests if there are delays at the Lewiston-Queenston, travelers should go to the Rainbow Bridge, less than five miles away.
Traffic on the Lewiston-Queenston bridge has been backed up during peak periods this spring because of a major redevelopment project to expand the Queenston plaza, which has limited the number of lanes available, according to Canada Border Services Agency. The work won’t be finished until the fall of 2010.
There are still fewer drivers crossing the bridges since 9/11, 20 percent less on most days and 10 percent less on holidays, Gallaugher said.
New United States identification requirements, which speed things up at the border, don’t take effect until June 1. But Kevin Corsaro, chief U.S. customs and border protection officer, said Buffalo is more than 80 percent document-compliant already.
Seufert, of the AAA, said travelers “are waiting until the last minute” to book their road trips. “We’ve seen our in-office TripTik volume pick up dramatically,” he said.
He said popular destinations this holiday weekend from Buffalo are Washington, D.C.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and New York City.
Memorial Day weekend is also the unofficial start to many activities and attractions in Western New York associated with summer.
“It’s a traditional kick-off to the summer. All our rides are open, and we’re ready to go,” said Mike McGuire, spokesman for Martin’s Fantasy Island in Grand Island.
Drive-in theaters also welcome the seasonable weather.
Mario and Denice Stormeloi opened their Sunset Drive-in in Middleport March 27, but are looking forward to drawing more people this weekend to their three screens, restaurant and ice cream stand.
“It should really be a nice weekend, businesswise,” Mario Stormeloi said. “Things should start picking up.”
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