Point Roberts Washington State is one of the unique anomalies resulting from the Pacific Northwest-Canadian border dispute settled in 1846 with the Oregon Treaty. At that time, Britain and the United States made the 49th parallel of latitude the “border” between what would become Canada and the United States.
In Metro Vancouver just south of Tsawwassen it meant that a small peninsula of five square miles with 1,300 residents would be part of the United States. Of course that has also meant that anyone from Point Roberts wishing to go by land to the rest of the continental United States had to drive through Canada and enter the United States at Blaine Washington.
The closure of the United States/Canada border for Covid reasons has been onerous to Point Roberts residents, who can no longer access Canada for shopping and services. Despite the fact that a dedicated school bus shuttles children from Point Roberts to Blaine Washington to school prior to the epidemic no similar service has been allowed for residents who are stranded.
As reported in the Bellingham Herald by Dave Gallagher that will change this week when The Port of Bellingham and Whatcom Transportation Authority will provide a short-term, passenger-only ferry which will take Point Roberts residents to the Blaine Harbor. From that harbour they can then take transit to the Cordata Station in Bellingham Washington for shopping and services.
This once a week ferry service is “free” but in actual fact the bill will be $30,000 to $50,000 USD a month, and there is already finger pointing at who will pony up for the bill. The boats will be leased from San Juan Cruises and include , the 50-foot Salish Sea and 100-foot vessel Salish Express.
The actual trip will take 90 minutes, and it is intended for Point Roberts residents only as it is being provided as an emergency service. The Port of Bellingham’s website contains details on the ferry dates and times.
You can read more about Point Roberts Washington on this link.
Image: Borderview.com, Wikipedia
