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What Does 2002 Hold for San Juan County?

Bruce Agnew
December 26, 2001
Cascadia
 Published at The (San Juan) Islands' Sounder

This section came from a larger summary of opinion from San Juan (Wash.) leaders in housing, growth, technology, education and volunteerism, in addition to transportation. For the complete article, click here.

Transportation

Since 1997, community leaders have gathered regularly at the Farmhouse Inn in La Conner to explore better ways to connect communities in North Snohomish, Skagit, Island, Whatcom and San Juan counties while maintaining the unique character of the region.

With funding secured through our legislators, Congressman Richard Larsen and Senator Patty Murray, the North Sound Connecting Communities Project has focused on funding and governing multi-county transportation projects.

On Nov. 9, 40 regional representatives met with the County Commissioners, Mayor Gary Boothman and Town Councilmembers, Port and WSDOT Ferry Advisory Committee leaders.

Highlights of the session:

• Expanded Amtrak and “interurban” train service : The congested Interstate 5 corridor is a nightmare. Congress is considering “High Speed Rail” legislation that would expand the Amtrak Cascades service. If the Legislature passes a state revenue package with matching funds, there will be more high speed international service from Vancouver, B.C. to Eugene, Oregon and possible regional interurban service to central Puget Sound with connections to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal.

• Expanded multi-modal transportation centers: The North Sound project is working with state and local leaders and businesses to expand transportation centers and develop interactive kiosks on regional and international travel . Ferry terminals, train stations, transit centers, town centers, and retail malls are included.

• Connecting public transit and private operators across county lines: Voter approved tax initiatives have forced transit districts to cut services. Public and private transit options for San Juan County are limited by tax considerations and the seasonal nature of tourism. How can we partner with private operators on the islands and throughout the region to expand bus/train/bicycle/ferry/pedestrian connections?

• Supplementing state ferry service: Maintaining state ferry service at an affordable cost is the top local priority. Interest was expressed in a regional coalition that could purchase the surplus state ferry “Hyak” and operate it from Bellingham and among the islands. This could help reduce the freight costs of transportation and consumer goods. Partnerships with private passenger only service for expanded seasonal operation and the possibility of a private operator for the Anacortes/Sydney route was also discussed.

A consistent theme from the Friday Harbor meeting was the fact that if the five North Sound counties could speak with one voice on regional transportation priorities, we could magnify our political clout for federal, state and private transportation projects and promote a more livable – and connected – region.

If you are interested in participating in the North Sound project please contact Bruce Agnew by e-mail c/o the Cascadia Project, Discovery Institute: or 206-292-0401 extension 113.

Bruce Agnew

Director, Cascadia Center
Since 2017, Bruce has served as Director of the ACES NW Network based in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington. The Network is dedicated to the acceleration of ACES (Autonomous-Connected-Electric-Shared) technology in Northwest transportation for the movement of people and goods. ACES is co-chaired by Tom Alberg, Co-Founder and managing partner of Madrona Venture Group in Seattle and Bryan Mistele, CEO/Co-Founder of INRIX global technology in Kirkland. In 2022, Bruce became the director of the newly created Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Regional Infrastructure Accelerator. Initial funding for the Accelerator has come from the Build America Bureau of the USDOT. PNWER is a statutory public/private nonprofit created in 1991 by the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan and the territories of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. PNWER has 16 cross-border working groups for common economic and environmental initiatives.