The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) is looking to the private sector to provide innovative and sustainable ideas for a new Visitor Transportation System (VTS) that will link visitors to different sites and attractions.
According to the request for proposals released July 31, the intent of the VTS is to link Niagara Parks’ key guest experiences including attractions, heritage sites and commercial nodes in Niagara Falls, Ont. The main area of focus will be Queen Victoria Park, where visitor transportation capacity is most challenged.
Through the RFP, the NPC is seeking interest from the private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the transportation system under a long-term lease agreement.
“For the last 11 years we’ve had an integrated bus system called WEGO operating between Niagara Parks and the tourist areas within Niagara Falls,” said David Adames, chief executive officer at NPC.
“We’ve extended that a minimum of two years until 2024. Between the connectivity study recommendations and our own Queen Victoria Park Master Plan, that drove our interest of looking at putting this RFP out, to look at what the private sector could come back with in terms of what a modern visitor transportation system would look like.”
Niagara Parks completed the Queen Victoria Park Master Plan in 2018 to guide the future redevelopment of the area that goes from the Rainbow Bridge south to the Rapidsview parking lot, located just south of Horseshoe Falls.
“We did a master plan that looked at the infrastructure in Queen Victoria Park and how we would support tourism growth within the park but also looked at environmental considerations and connecting the different guest experiences within the park and we have an awful lot of guest amenities within Queen Victoria Park,” said Adames.
“I think we’ve been very clear in the RFP about how special Queen Victoria Park is so there will be environmental and cultural heritage considerations the proponents would need to be aware of, so not impacting sitelines, respecting the environmental conditions in Queen Victoria Park. That will all be part of the submissions.”
The City of Niagara Falls also completed a connectivity study that examined future needs for visitor movement in the destination.
“This is a revenue generating opportunity for Niagara Parks,” Adames explained.
“We’re an operational enterprise of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. What that means is we do not receive any tax subsidy, so we have to generate our own revenue every year. We already operate a number of revenue producing operations and we have tenants like the boat tours and the zip line so this will be another tenant at Niagara Parks.”
Queen Victoria Park encompasses the lands around the Niagara Gorge overlooking Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and includes attractions such as Journey Behind the Falls, the Niagara City Cruises Boat Tour, WildPlay’s Zipline to the Falls and the Niagara Parks Power Station.
“We’re looking at good connectivity to our different visitor amenities within Queen Victoria Park, so in other words the ability to move our visitors around the park and connect to points of interest,” Adames said.
“We’re looking during peak season to move a minimum 3,000 visitors per hour on the visitor transportation system. We’re looking to reduce emissions from whatever system comes forward, so it’s an environmentally friendly transportation system that we’re looking for. We are looking to potentially reduce the vehicle movements within Queen Victoria Park. Today we have the Niagara Parkway that runs through Queen Victoria Park, also pedestrian access, cycling, so we do want to potentially either reduce and or eliminate vehicle movements in the park.”
They will not know what the system will look like until the proposals come in.
“It could be anything from a fixed link to cable car technology, to buses but they would have to be either hydrogen or electric,” he said.
The RFP will close Oct. 31. Submissions will be reviewed and a proponent is expected to be selected in 2024 following an evaluation process.
For more information visit niagaraparks.com/visitortransportation.
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