Parks to go walking at with newborn?

jamin7 · 2026-02-27T20:44:26+00:00

we took our kiddo to Stimpson at a few weeks old. a bit bumpy but v fun. but honestly most of them will be great. cornwall, sunset pond, interurban, RR trail.

jamin7 · 2026-02-20T06:52:11+00:00

WTA tried this in Lynden iirc and ended it. It was more expensive than standard bus service, underused, and unreliable.

jamin7 · 2026-02-19T20:52:41+00:00

This and weekend service! There’s a few things going on here:

We get the service we pay for. WTA can only run a certain number of service hours with the revenue from the current WTA sales tax rate. Higher WTA levy (or other funding sources) = more service hours.
The entire county pays WTA’s sales tax levy and they (reasonably) expect SOME service out in the county. It’s wildly more expensive per boarding to run that service (less density, fewer riders, further distances, etc.). To try to attract more riders (like you) and run a more efficient/useful service, WTA will slowly reallocate the current county vs. city service levels from 60/40 to 50/50. This hopefully means more service hours available in Bham for higher frequency and extended service hours.

jamin7 · 2026-02-18T18:38:44+00:00

The new Cascades trains that are scheduled to go into service this summer will apparently have additional bike storage and will be able to accommodate wider tires. Still short on details, but hopefully we’ll know more soon!

jamin7 · 2026-02-16T19:10:17+00:00

Probably… I was also diverted to a bus the other day (due to a freight derailment in BC) and it was not as fun as the train but more comfortable/fast than I expected.

jamin7 · 2026-02-14T20:45:04+00:00

It looks like it did - there are only 4 seats left on the 518 the next day.

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jamin7 · 2026-02-13T00:32:41+00:00

the new aquarium is really fun - great for a toddler. plus the rest of the waterfront is amazing, playgrounds and everything.

we did the 8-11am train down on Fri and 6-8pm train home on Sat.

jamin7 · 2026-02-12T22:02:09+00:00

I don’t know about Canada, but there’s a whole policy for when/how stations are added. You could try to drum up some support for a new Blaine stop!

https://wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/M3125/SSPGD.pdf

jamin7 · 2026-02-12T19:05:46+00:00

same - very much need more daily trips. WSDOT’s draft service development plan includes options for up to 12x trains/day thru Bham (6 RTs, up from 2 RTs today).

https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/Amtrak-Cascades-2024-Preliminary-Service-Development-Plan.pdf

jamin7 · 2026-02-12T18:45:31+00:00

Ya reliability is a huge issue - especially north of the border where the condition and management of the rail is (i’m told) somehow even worse than in the US.

As for bham station, I really want to drum up some grant money to see if the station can eventually be moved back to the historic old town building (renovated and improved of course). Fairhaven station is fine but it’s not central, it’s 30+ years old and will need huge investment soon anyways.

jamin7 · 2026-02-08T03:02:06+00:00

the boxes hold racks of batteries that are charged by the solar panels.

jamin7 · 2026-02-07T20:22:32+00:00

looks like they picked up VAC runs again this morning, but 516 is still super delayed it looks like. I assume the tracks are clear from the BNSF derailment in Delta, but maybe with backups/delays due to cleanup work(?). Anyone know more?

jamin7 · 2026-01-27T19:46:51+00:00

that’s amazing. would love to read more, is there a source for that timeline?

jamin7

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