This is the worst border crossing anywhere in the world in terms of waits. Spent an hour in the winter snow waiting to cross.
Since I live in Fort Erie and travel to Buffalo a couple times a week, this is my bridge of choice. But even if I had to drive some distance I would choose this bridge. When Niagara Falls and Lewiston/Queenston have hour long waits, I can usually sail through at this crossing in minutes with my Nexus. Like most locals, I don't bother trying to cross into the US on long weekends during the summer. I find the staff on both sides to be friendly and not intimidating. And, of course, the best part is that once I clear customs I'm right downtown Buffalo and have easy and immediate access to the freeway system.
Since I live in Fort Erie, I travel across this bridge a lot -- usually twice a week. There are three bridges crossing the border here. Niagara falls is the most famous, of course because it has ....well ..... Niagara Falls!!! Its more expensive and usually the wait time is longer. Lewiston is to the north of Niagara Falls and is close to a shopping outlet. To me this is reason enough to stay away but also because the traffic is usually the heaviest so the wait is the longest. I like the Peace Bridge because (1) of its name; (2) the wait is usually the shortest, and (3) it lets me out right downtown Buffalo, one of my favorite cities in North America. I find the Border patrol people are much nicer here than the other two bridges as well. And the lights on the bridge are pretty spiffy too!!
We crossed the bridge this weekend to enter Canada to go to Niagara Falls - no waiting. The agent was so nice and friendly AND she stamped our passports for us when we asked. I read up on border crossings and most people said that the agents would not want to them the passports. We heard that it lights up at night...did not get to see that since it was daylight. It was a 14 mile drive to the Falls, but time passed quickly!! So glad we used this bridge.
I had the good fortune of going by the Peace Bridge late yesterday, returning from a meeting near Niagara Falls. I wish I'd had my camera with me, because it is GORGEOUS at night. The entire expanse is lit up with different color lights, making it an extraordinary photo opportunity. Bring along a digital camera with a rapid-exposure lens. It is worth the effort!
We used this bridge when returning from Canada one time. I would rather swim the Niagara river than go through this experience again. We got to the check point and were tired after driving for 12 hours to get to a hotel that did't accept dogs and had to go back to the US to find a pet friendly hotel. We got to the US border and I pulled forward, past the stop sign. The guard told me, force-ably, that I had to back up. I did. The sign says to pull forward when the lane is empty and I did this. The guard came out and asked me what I didn't understand about wait at the stop sign. I apologized, but my wife told him that was not what the sign said. Within two minutes, eight border guards dragged her from the car, handcuffed her and took her to the detention room. She was livid so they searched her and even after verifying that she had nothing other than the clothes she was wearing, they put leg irons on her. It wasn't until she calmed down and I told them about her high blood pressure that they allowed her to go to the hospital so they could get her blood pressure down.If you cross back from Canada, you quickly find that constitutional rights do not apply at the border crossings. You must follow not only the instructions on the signs, but also the ones the border guard decides to implement. Be apologetic and subservient. Do not point out where the guard has implemented a process that is different than the one that is written. Just try to get through without getting assaulted. Even with our US passports, they didn't want to let us back into the United States. I guess border security is effectively "DO NOT ENTER" even for citizens.
Border crossing didn't take long, Which was nice! Asked us the usual questions, and everything went smooth, took about 15 mins to get across! The duty free at this bridge has the best selection of liquor of all the three bridge over to New York!
what a comical old queen this bridge is, appropriately, as we believe her highness had a hand in opening it... change plans have been on the drawing board for centuries, it seems, and three lanes (that's for two directions) just really aren't enough, but it's a worthy old span and the entry process is being improved regularly, while we wait for the various governments to catch up with the need
The peace bridge offers great views of Lake Erie the Niagara River and downtown Buffalo. It has a Nexus lane but even with a wait the amazing views will keep you occupied.
The peace bridge has an interesting history. Definitely worth a read. As do most international bridges. I can't believe I'm reviewing a bridge. But whatever. In busy times, it will take you up to 45 minutes to cross into US. But your average will be 5-10 minutes. Going into Canada is most often the quickest, at about 5 minutes or so. Never a long wait into Canada.