Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
Mar 7th 2018, 7:43 am
#1
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 6,313
Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
Did anyone else get caught up in the humungous traffic jam crossing the border from the USA to Vancouver on Sat Feb 17th?
My daughter drew the short straw to drive my OH and I to Vancouver after a month long stay with her and her partner and our 6 week old granddaughter.We would be spending our last two days in the city before flying to London on the first stage of our journey back home to Portugal
We were coming from the San Juan islands and in principle the trip(including ferry) should have taken less than three and a half hours. I say 'short straw' only because her truck was out of action,and her partners was being used for a job in Seattle . Both much more comfortable than her tiny Toyota that we all crammed into
In the event we came within two miles of the border and joined a queue of almost stationary traffic. Little did we know that two miles would eventually take FIVE AND A HALF HOURS to cover!!!
There was zero information,no possibility of leaving the freeway (except to go into a state park ) no facilities,no police presence etc..Nothing on the radio. It was like we had fallen into a black hole
My D was lucky that either I or OH could take over the driving (crawling) when she needed to either feed or change the baby. It could have been a pretty dangerous situation had she been alone
In fact the border guard admonished her when we finally got to the barriers.telling her she 'shouldn't have travelled on that day ' wtf?
It turned out to be Chinese New Year, Presidents day weekend in the USA,and a major hockey final...Wouldn't you think they might have anticipated a 'little' traffic?Wouldn't you think a little timely info would have helped?
I spotted what probable was the cause of at least half the delay..A slip road emerging right before the crossing. Savvy drivers way back down the freeway could slip off and take another route that brought them out at that point,where they could blithely push in to the patiently waiting queue. An option not open to us
where were the traffic police to control this ? i was stunned that people put up with it. Had the weather been worse it could have resulted in some nasty situations.
As it was we arrived at our hotel at 11 pm. exhausted . In Europe our room would have gone..luckily not so in Canada.
We had to book our D and grand baby in for the night..and i insisted again for the following night. (a bit of a treat for me ) I was however very worried about her taking the trip back alone..In the event the border crossing took 50 mins and she did miss her ferry..had to wait until 5.30 pm for another. A very long day for her
i felt horrible guilty.
We will stick with flying into Seattle again next time.despite the long three hour + drive to the islands... Lesson learned..Love Canada,but sorry won't risk that again
My daughter drew the short straw to drive my OH and I to Vancouver after a month long stay with her and her partner and our 6 week old granddaughter.We would be spending our last two days in the city before flying to London on the first stage of our journey back home to Portugal
We were coming from the San Juan islands and in principle the trip(including ferry) should have taken less than three and a half hours. I say 'short straw' only because her truck was out of action,and her partners was being used for a job in Seattle . Both much more comfortable than her tiny Toyota that we all crammed into
In the event we came within two miles of the border and joined a queue of almost stationary traffic. Little did we know that two miles would eventually take FIVE AND A HALF HOURS to cover!!!
There was zero information,no possibility of leaving the freeway (except to go into a state park ) no facilities,no police presence etc..Nothing on the radio. It was like we had fallen into a black hole
My D was lucky that either I or OH could take over the driving (crawling) when she needed to either feed or change the baby. It could have been a pretty dangerous situation had she been alone
In fact the border guard admonished her when we finally got to the barriers.telling her she 'shouldn't have travelled on that day ' wtf?
It turned out to be Chinese New Year, Presidents day weekend in the USA,and a major hockey final...Wouldn't you think they might have anticipated a 'little' traffic?Wouldn't you think a little timely info would have helped?
I spotted what probable was the cause of at least half the delay..A slip road emerging right before the crossing. Savvy drivers way back down the freeway could slip off and take another route that brought them out at that point,where they could blithely push in to the patiently waiting queue. An option not open to us
where were the traffic police to control this ? i was stunned that people put up with it. Had the weather been worse it could have resulted in some nasty situations.
As it was we arrived at our hotel at 11 pm. exhausted . In Europe our room would have gone..luckily not so in Canada.
We had to book our D and grand baby in for the night..and i insisted again for the following night. (a bit of a treat for me ) I was however very worried about her taking the trip back alone..In the event the border crossing took 50 mins and she did miss her ferry..had to wait until 5.30 pm for another. A very long day for her
i felt horrible guilty.
We will stick with flying into Seattle again next time.despite the long three hour + drive to the islands... Lesson learned..Love Canada,but sorry won't risk that again
Last edited by GeniB; Mar 7th 2018 at 7:48 am.
Mar 7th 2018, 7:50 am
#2
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
Amtrak is an option to/from Seattle as well and really not much slower once airport security and check in times are accounted for.
Sounds like a typical holiday weekend at the major border crossings, wait until next year when that weekend is both a holiday in the US and BC.
Sounds like a typical holiday weekend at the major border crossings, wait until next year when that weekend is both a holiday in the US and BC.
Mar 7th 2018, 1:49 pm
#3
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Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 1,706
Re: Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
Amtrak is an option to/from Seattle as well and really not much slower once airport security and check in times are accounted for.
Sounds like a typical holiday weekend at the major border crossings, wait until next year when that weekend is both a holiday in the US and BC.
Sounds like a typical holiday weekend at the major border crossings, wait until next year when that weekend is both a holiday in the US and BC.
The border can be horrendous though. I have waited 1.5+ many times but have never heard of a 5 hour+. Ouch.
I check border times before leaving and keep an eye on them as a I approach.
Border Wait Times
There are also electronic signs noting these as you get to around Delta on BC Side and Bellingham on WA side.
Presumably you came through Peace Arch/Blaine and it is only a 10 min diversion to Pacific crossing and in your case even a diversion to Sumas would probably still of been quicker.
Mar 7th 2018, 4:16 pm
#4
Bex in the city
Joined: Jun 2013
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 3,899
Re: Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
If you have to go inside, definitely don’t go between 6pm and 7pm - that’s when they have their ‘handover’.
It means they chat with each other for about an hour and make sure all the people lining up can see they aren’t really doing anything.
Then if you are lucky you will get called over to one of the border guards who asks you questions whilst stuffing their faces with potato chips!
It means they chat with each other for about an hour and make sure all the people lining up can see they aren’t really doing anything.
Then if you are lucky you will get called over to one of the border guards who asks you questions whilst stuffing their faces with potato chips!
Mar 7th 2018, 4:45 pm
#5
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Great Vancouver traffic jam of Feb 17th
Amtrak still safer then driving.
If you trust Amtrak right now after a pretty dodgy safety record.
The border can be horrendous though. I have waited 1.5+ many times but have never heard of a 5 hour+. Ouch.
I check border times before leaving and keep an eye on them as a I approach.
Border Wait Times
There are also electronic signs noting these as you get to around Delta on BC Side and Bellingham on WA side.
Presumably you came through Peace Arch/Blaine and it is only a 10 min diversion to Pacific crossing and in your case even a diversion to Sumas would probably still of been quicker.
The border can be horrendous though. I have waited 1.5+ many times but have never heard of a 5 hour+. Ouch.
I check border times before leaving and keep an eye on them as a I approach.
Border Wait Times
There are also electronic signs noting these as you get to around Delta on BC Side and Bellingham on WA side.
Presumably you came through Peace Arch/Blaine and it is only a 10 min diversion to Pacific crossing and in your case even a diversion to Sumas would probably still of been quicker.
