At the Border

Updates below.
 Unusually for me, I've been back and forth across the border quite a bit over the past week since the new Nexus hours went into effect at the Canadian crossing here in Point Roberts.  Down in Bellingham a couple of times, up to the Vancouver airport returning children/grandchildren to the U.S. via Canada, and even a thrift shop, grocery, and laundromat visit to Tsawwassen.

We've been crossing at a variety of times, but the morning lines for the regular lane into Canada still look to be pretty long most days despite the new Nexus hours, although this morning at 9 a.m., it was minimal.  This afternoon, lots of waiting in both the Nexus and the regular lanes (both of them).  Our last two trips have had us choosing the regular lane (with two lanes operating) rather than the Nexus with one, and in both cases, the regular lane got us through faster, although not a lot faster.  I really would just like to cross the border and not have to try to game the system or even think about how to time it.  Twenty years from now will it be any better?

Down at Peace Arch, Nexus has been fine, but the waits to get into the U.S.  in the morning (ca. 9-10 a.m.) in the regular lanes were truly awful.  Somewhat ominously, the signs that describe the wait time at this crossing now say only "Wait time at Peace Arch: No Available Information" and "Wait time at Truck Crossing: N/A".  It's not a confidence building sign.  Probably they'd be better served by just turning off that sign.

Well, it's summer and the waits are long.  And not only is it summer, but it's B.C. Day weekend, so there are a lot of people moving across the Point Roberts border for weekend vacations, U.S. mail, U.S. gasoline, and--at least to judge from the emptiness of the International Market shelves--U.S. food.  If I were a Canadian, I'm not sure that I could legitimately claim that the Canadian border agency has a duty to make it faster for me to get back from Point Roberts for the latter three of those visits.  But if I were a Canadian coming down here, I'd sure think hard about getting a Nexus card.

A reader writes that AM 730 gives border and tunnel wait status reports every few minutes.  A second reader speaks up for AM 1130 and its every ten minute reports 'on the ones,' which I take it means at 01, 11, 21, etc. minutes past the hour.  And, finally, there is this Washington state DOT report on northbound border crossing waits at
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/small/BorderWaitTimes/Blaine.aspx
which is formatted for mobile phones.

Good Work, Canada! I Think, I Hope

Update:  This change goes into effect on July 23.  

Canada, apparently recognizing that the border waiting times at the Point Roberts crossing are getting quite problematic, has reached out to address the problem by extending the Nexus hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.  That's a big gain for those of us with Nexus cards, which we residents mostly have.  The problems over the past few months on the Canadian side of the crossing have been that the non-Nexus lines are really long.  I'm hoping that they realized that those lines were lengthened because there were so many Nexus holders in them and that, by extending the Nexus hours, the cars in the regular lane would also benefit.  Otherwise, the long lines on the Canadian side will continue, but the Nexus cardholders will get to sail [sale] on through.

Now, it is the Americans' turn to extend those Nexus hours at the Point Roberts border crossing.  Go, team!

Advising the Advisers

Chaircreature Reber has responded to my suggestion that we use the $370,000 to provide funding for additional Nexus lane hours by saying it is a funny joke, but then goes on to say that surely I understand that the border is controlled by the Federal Government.  Well, shucks, yes, Sherlock.  I did know that.  But I assumed that Whatcom County was collecting the penny/gallon tax on gasoline in U.S. dollars, rather than in drachmas (which Greece may be needing again) or, in chickens as in the infamous Lowden barter plan  (that's one unplucked chicken/dollar).  I did consider the problem in converting U.S. dollars into Canadian ones to extend the Canadian Nexus Lane hours, but thought that there was probably enough currency exchange going on in Point Roberts that that, too, could be managed. 

But, apparently not.  Whatcom County will build us some little walking paths or some little biking distances.  And we can be happy with having had our opinion sought.

It occurs to me, of course, that, although I was not making a joke, I did make a fatal error.  Like those who are under the misimpression that the Social Security Tax is being kept in a literal lockbox to be spent on securing the social, I foolishly thought that what we were talking about were actual dollars that were down there in the possession of the County.  Now, I have no real knowledge here, but I'm guessing or inferring that what happens is something like this:  Whatcom County gets the pennies per gallon and puts it in its accounting credits and then it spends it for whatever things and services that Whatcom County buys, and puts the cost of that spending in its accounting debits.  And so, there no longer is any money to spend.  That's all done.  The money came in; the money got spent.

What Point Roberts gets to do is to go poke around in the Whatcom County attic where the County people keep all their office and other county supplies that haven't yet been used or aren't currently being use.  And Point Roberts can then ask for $370,000 worth of that stuff.  Could be street signs, could be walk-making labor, could be an old snow plow.  But it couldn't be longer Nexus lane hours because Whatcom County didn't buy any of those last year. 

Also, we can't use the money to buy a llama for all the Point residents who want one because llama ownership isn't related to transit, and even if it were, the County Attic is devoid of llamas for us to choose from.  Too bad.  Either longer Nexus hours or a llama per household is what we need, of course.  But the joke is on us!

What Do We Really Need?

This spring, the County has named a Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee, presumably on the off chance that there could be conversation on difficult issues prior to the high level screaming point from the Point.  The five people are to be meeting monthly in open meetings and their first meeting was this month but I, alas, was not here that evening.

However, the chairman of the group has sent us round some information and a request.  What it amounts to is this: Sometime ago, the County put in a penny a gallon tax on gasoline which was to be used by the local community.  Now, in that case, that 'local community' is us here in Point Roberts.  So the first thing the Advisory folks are doing is trying to figure out what we might use that money for.  At the moment, thanks to all those Canadians who come down here to buy cheaper gas, the fund for P.R. holds about $370,000.  That's an economic development plan all in itself, surely.

The kicker, however---and there is always a kicker when dealing with government (not a criticism, just a recognition of inevitability)--is that the use of the money is tethered to transit.  Specifically,


NOTE: These funds can only be used for “Roads and Transportation.” They cannot be used for docks or piers, lighthouses or whale watching platforms. State law limits them to “investment in new or existing highways of significance, public transportation, and other transportation projects and programs….”

In a place this small, it's a little hard to imagine too many transportation needs that involve roads.  I mean, we already have roads.  Of course there are things like wider shoulders for bike lanes or off road trails.  Unfortunately, we are also cautioned about the costs of such things:  Off-road paths: $2,000,000 per mile

            Widening road shoulders: $500,000 per mile

Okay, then, we could get a short path to somewhere or a few blocks of widened shoulder and then next year we could turn it into a bike path.  Oh, well.

My first thought was that there should be a transit lottery in which everyone with a permanent P.R. residence AND a car registered here would be entitled to enter the daily lottery for $1,000 worth of gasoline.  That would connect it to transportation because, at least in theory, those 365 car owners could drive more than they might otherwise do.  And people really seem to like lotteries.  And even I might like a lottery if I didn't have to pay for a ticket and there was some reasonable chance of winning something.  It seems to me as if it might easily be a 1 in 3 chances of winning $1,000 worth of gasoline in any given year.   And, at a thousand dollars a day, we could use up all $370K during one year.

On the other hand, the powers might not think that was really improving roads and transportation.

But then, here's the real idea.  What would improve transportation in Point Roberts?  For people who are in Point Roberts and particularly those who live here?  The answer to that, really, is simple: longer Nexus lane hours, both coming and going.  Almost everyone who lives here has a Nexus card.  So, just how many border guard salaries could we pay with our $370,000?  I don't know, but surely including benefits, they don't get more than $100,000 each?  (What do I know about salaries?  Nothing.  No one's paid me one in 15 years.)  If so, that's almost four additional guards.  Surely with three additional FTE salaries, both the Canadians and U.S. people could manage one extra shift for the Nexus lane each day.  Opening it at 8 am, say, and keeping it open until 10 pm or later.

Somebody else can work out the money and staffing and all that.  But surely there's nothing that would improve transportation in Point Roberts more than this.  Take it away, Chairman Reber.  The ball's in your court.