Rolling southward for March Break

Traffic leaving Canada’s been busy for the start of March Break. The majority of drivers are looking for a break from the constant cold.

The Anderson family from Hamilton got in their car this morning and is heading south.

“We go every year, but we have never been happier because of how cold it’s been.”

The Peace Bridge Duty Free parking lot is filled with travellers going some place warm. For Doug and Karen Simms, Orlando was a last-minute decision. They’re going because of the weather. “Yes, for sure. That’s the biggest reason.”

Traffic heading to the U.S. has been fairly steady today. Ask people and they’ll tell you this long, harsh winter was the the reason they picked up the phone and made reservations for Florida. “Because it’s cold.”

The nice thing about crossing the border at the start of the March Break is that people stagger their travel times. Because they start crossing Thursday night, there’s never really any significant back-up of traffic. And not everyone is heading to a beach this week.

Last year more than 36,000 cars crossed into the U.S. on the Niagara bridges over the weekend at the start of the March Break.

This year with people trying to escape winter, those numbers may be even higher – even with higher gas prices. The price of gas in New York averages $3.74 a gallon and fortunately gets cheaper the further south you go.

Next weekend, when all the March break travellers come home at the same time, the border bridges are going to be jammed and it could take people over an hour to get across.