Cascadia CAN Get Along!

Peace Arch Crossing

From the category “we are more alike than different” comes a tale of the positive outcome for the second Amtrak Cascade.  Last week after what threatened to be a standoff between Cascadia neighbors, US and Canada, a peaceful settlement prevailed.

The highly successful second daily Amtrak Cascade train was started as a measure to reduce auto traffic and reduce border crossing queuing anticipated during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Due to the success of the run, service was continued.  For a variety of reasons the second train was in danger of being eliminated when the Canadian government threatened to charge over half a million dollars a year for border crossing inspections.  The fee came as a bit of a surprise and threatened to push riders back into cars and onto I-5 resulting in higher emissions and fuel use. The second train was also seen as an economic boost for cross border tourism and trade.  As the fees were about to be imposed, the Canadian government under pressure from Washington State and others was rescinded.

Don’t we wish all disputes in Cascadia could be settled as amicably – truth be told, they generally are.  This is good practce for Cascadia communities that will have to deal with the desire to support more High Speed Rail and what to do about the aging Columbia River Crossing.  Can’t we all just get along?  This proves, why yes, we can!