Rouses Point Mayor: Vt., NY border town travel changes an 'important start'
Mar. 7—ROUSES POINT — Vermont softened its border town travel restrictions, authorizing cross-border day trips for added essential purposes, but Rouses Point Mayor Jedidiah Thone says the impact on his village could be minimal.
"It sounds like they can't go shopping and they can't eat out," he told the Press-Republican Friday. "That's not going to help our shops or our restaurants any, but it's a start.
"It's a very important start."
BORDER TOWN TRAVEL
The State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development recently added the travel changes to its website, lifting the quarantine requirement for those traveling between border towns for certain purposes.
The agency, which defined a "border town" as a municipality within five miles of the Vermont State line, noted that many Green Mountain State border towns were "economically and culturally linked" to those of a neighboring state.
Border town Vermonters and residents of border towns in neighboring states were not required to quarantine if:
—They traveled five miles or less into either the neighboring state or into Vermont
—They traveled to one of its neighboring states or to Vermont and back home in the same day
—They traveled for an essential purpose or for any activity that is necessary for their physical or mental health
Activities necessary for an individual's physical or mental health included going to worship, going to a gym, getting a haircut and participating in place-based outdoor recreation, the agency says.
"This does not include activities such as social gatherings, dining at a restaurant or bar, or going to an indoor entertainment venue, for example, a movie theater or bowling alley," it adds.
Individuals were still required to follow COVID-19 prevention measures, like wearing a mask and staying at least six feet from others they do not live with.
BUSINESSES HURTING
Thone, who travels to the neighboring state often for his work as an insurance auditor, noted daily crossings via the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge in Rouses Point, which connects the village to Alburgh, Vt.
Asked how heavy that traffic was, the mayor noted much of it was work related and said, "There's enough of it."
Such travel was already deemed essential under Vermont's COVID-19 travel restrictions, alongside other authorized travel purposes, including personal safety; health care; the care of others; parental shared custody; food, beverage or medicine; and school.
The real businesses feeling the brunt of border restrictions were Rouses Point's eateries, shops and marinas, the mayor said.
"They don't have the visitors, they don't have the Canadians," Thone said. "The marina was hammered, just hammered from not having the Canadians come in."
Given the five-mile range and other stipulations attached to the latest border town travel guidelines, while the village mayor appreciated the changes, he said, "I just don't see how big of an impact there's going to be."
"I don't think there are many people in Alburgh, Vt. who attend church in Rouses Point," he said as an example.
VACCINATED VISITORS
Both New York and Vermont recently adopted guidelines allowing fully vaccinated individuals to travel freely within their bounds and without quarantine, so long as mask wearing and social distancing guidelines are followed.
The village mayor believed that change would have a "far bigger" impact on the lakeside municipality than the latest border town update.
"That will help a lot," he said. "I am really happy about that."
North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Garry Douglas said all related travel adjustments were welcomed and a reflection of real vaccine progress.
"While this provision by Vermont will further support traditional back and forth between bordering communities in New York, especially in Essex County where many Vermonters routinely shop and obtain services in places such as Ticonderoga, we also now have the ability of New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated to travel in Vermont for non-essential activities," Douglas said.
"In other words, getting a bit back to normal, piece by piece."
CANADIAN CROSSING
Douglas said the cross-state travel easements were the types of "interim steps" that the chamber hoped to see seriously considered at the Canadian border. That northern crossing has been closed to all nonessential travel since March of last year.
"The difference, unfortunately, is that Canada is lagging behind the U.S. in getting its population vaccinated, which is bound to undermine their readiness for interim progress," the chamber president said.
"We continue to call upon the U.S. government and our federal representatives to press for the earliest possible progress," he continued. "We can't expect anything too soon, but we believe the U.S. can help to encourage progress as soon as it is reasonable.
"Surely this should start at some point with those who are vaccinated."
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Twitter: @McKenzieDelisle
