Bridge toll alone is not enough

Would life be different in Rainy River if there were a toll to cross the bridge again?
It might be if it were as steep as it is in Fort Frances where a round trip costs nearly $10.
When the toll went off here in 1988, it was less than $2 per car and only 10¢ per person. Some argued that was enough to keep people from going to Baudette all the time, some several times a day, to shop.
It does seem that the decline of Rainy River's business community coincides with the removal of the toll.
But many other things have happened since then including the run-through of Rainy River's main employer, CNR, an aging and declining population, an overall economic decline in the region, etc.
I think that if the government were to reduce the tax on gasoline as has been done in Sprague, MB, local gas stations may have been able to make it. But even just gas alone is not enough. Almost all the stations in Baudette have added other businesses in an effort to stay viable.
We also need a new major employer to get young people back in the area to spend money.
A major toll might help, but I don't think it alone would be enough to get businesses to expand, reopen or even start anew.
The mining in the area can not come soon enough.
–Until then, Ken