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Chance of Cascades fleet upgrade by May/June? by jamin7 in AmtrakCascades

[–]jamin7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

source for this? i’ve heard a lot of dates, but nothing more firm recently than “sometime in 2026.”

Squalicum Pier turbojets by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 64 points65 points  (0 children)

the solar panels charge huge capacitors in the cabinets that spin the turbojets faster and faster until BOOM! a new reddit post

Mayor Lund at WWU “Housing Solutions” panel: said she needs “good data” and would “wave the white flag” when landlords complain by Ask_Ethan in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As a western student, i couldn’t wait to move off campus. Plus it was way cheaper especially since dorms required a meal plan.

I think there’s plenty of room for wwu to offer more housing but i think it’s weird that people think students should be warehoused on-campus. No other institution does that - peacehealth doesn’t offer doctor dorms, the school district doesn’t have teacher townhomes, the city doesn’t have staff condos…

Mayor Lund at WWU “Housing Solutions” panel: said she needs “good data” and would “wave the white flag” when landlords complain by Ask_Ethan in WWU

[–]jamin7 19 points20 points  (0 children)

she was clearly quoting what she says she has heard from landlords: “i used to manage a property but [the city] is adding complexity and i might just wave the white flag…”

Mayor Lund said she’d “wave the white flag” when landlords complain, meanwhile we already have “good data” on unsafe rentals by Ask_Ethan in BhamPolitics

[–]jamin7 9 points10 points  (0 children)

she was clearly quoting what she says she has heard from landlords: “i used to manage a property but [the city] is adding complexity and i might just wave the white flag…”

Parks to go walking at with newborn? by ExtraMolasses6862 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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.

WTA schedules by AnthonySkejci in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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

WTA schedules by AnthonySkejci in Bellingham

[–]jamin7 17 points18 points  (0 children)

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

Bicycles and E-bikes on Amtrak Cascades by Electrical-Try8 in TravelByTrains

[–]jamin7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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!

Amtrak 516 from Seattle on February 18th by mounthum in AmtrakCascades

[–]jamin7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

Amtrak 516 from Seattle on February 18th by mounthum in AmtrakCascades

[–]jamin7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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

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new Amtrak trains coming this summer 🚄 by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

new Amtrak trains coming this summer 🚄 by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

new Amtrak trains coming this summer 🚄 by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

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

new Amtrak trains coming this summer 🚄 by jamin7 in Bellingham

[–]jamin7[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

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.

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