For the last year, there has been a public discussion in the Portland/Vancouver area about replacing the bridge on I-5 over the Columbia River at the state line. The Columbia River Crossing website has up to date information on the various options for what the bridge will look like, it’s size, and how it will [...]
All over our country, as well as all over Cascadia, transit systems are dealing with the same increasing operating and fuel costs as do individual drivers. At the same time, those drivers are realizing the need to switch from their personal vehicles to public transportation. This has, of course, caused an increase in transit usage, [...]
Just when you think that people are getting the right ideas about urban planning, someone will come up with an idea that reminds you that there is still work to be done. An article from the August 7 editions of The Enterprise Newspapers [of Snohomish County] (Mill Creek Edition) notes that 94-year-old Mill Creek resident [...]
This last Wednesday, the Washington State Ferry M/V Elwha suffered a mechanical problem that caused it to stop in the water soon after leaving the ferry dock at Shaw Island in the San Juan Islands. While there was a potential for problems, since it was some time before they could get generators running again, the [...]
Like most people in Cascadia, I have considered what I can do to decrease use of costly fossil fuels. The costs both to the environment and to our pocketbooks have become a considerable burden. It really is time to do something about the issue. A recent article in the Bellingham Herald tells the stories of [...]
The city of Portland is blessed with one of the finest transit systems in the country. The crown jewel of the Tri-Met system is it’s MAX light rail system. It’s three lines plus a fourth under construction carry a great number of commuters and other transit users every day. Twenty-eight percent of all transit trips [...]
Let me just start out by saying that I am all for any effort that will help the cause for more bicycle routes, more bicycle usage, and safer conditions for riding bicycles in the cities of Cascadia. I have been a lifelong bicycle rider, well before it was the “in” thing to be doing. I [...]
Today, the board of Sound Transit is meeting to decide whether to put a plan to increase the sales tax to finance light rail and other transit options for the next decade or two. There are strong opinions both ways, to go ahead and put an aggressive proposal on the ballot or to do nothing [...]
Hey! Wanna buy a boat? I have discussed Washington State Ferries’ “Steel Electric” class boats on this blog before. These are the 80-year-old ferries that WSF had to retire quickly when it was found that they would have to shovel too much of our money into them to fix the hulls that were rotting out [...]
I earlier posted an article about the US Border Patrol stopping passengers coming into Anacortes on domestic ferries to ask them to prove their immigration status before they can continue. I am on record as being strongly opposed to law enforcement systematically stopping large numbers of innocent citizens without reasonable cause to do so. I [...]
