Northern Puget Sound by Rail, Bus and Boat

[Northwestern]

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One other relevant thing to throw in about my Puget Sound trip.
I am curious about why the railroads were built in the area. It seems like they were built for a variety of reasons, including for resource extraction, for both timber and mining.
They are apparently still used for these purposes today, transporting raw materials to and from ports and terminals in the Puget Sound and Georgia Strait.
This is one of the contradictions of the region--- you can go to a cute, historic tourist town and a few miles away, there might be a gigantic industrial complex. Between Mount Vernon and Anacortes, there is a gigantic refinery complex.
This is also pretty significant because the region has a reputation for environmental consciousness---and Washington has taken a lot of steps to curtail carbon dioxide emissions, but the area's European settlement was based on often destructive resource extraction, and the economy is still dependent on that in places.

There is a new Amtrak all- electric bus to make connections between Seattle and Bellingham.

https://is.gd/lGJkSY

 

[Asher]

The first part of this is one of those many game theory type problems that come up with transit. Because for the tourist businesses on the islands, they obviously want people in their vehicles so they can visit their businesses, especially bed and breakfasts and resorts that are some miles away from the ferry terminals. But also, those same business owners probably realize that too much congestion is going to discourage visitors who like the island because it is supposed to be a relaxing place, not a traffic jam. But who would want to take the plunge into turning the islands into a restricted vehicle zone?
Of course, in this situation, there is also a carrot, like you mentioned: more shuttles. Also, of course, maybe having some passenger-only ferries?
Also, I just visited for one day, so I don't know all the factors about transportation in the area.

The only time I visited BC was back in the 70s. Caught a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. Coming round a bend in the road and getting a first glimpse of the big plugged ferry parking lot, I thought we have no chance of getting on the ferry. That ferry swallowed up everything in the lot and more. There is a lot going on there. I would hate to not have transportation.

 

[Matthew H Fish]

The only time I visited BC was back in the 70s. Caught a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. Coming round a bend in the road and getting a first glimpse of the big plugged ferry parking lot, I thought we have no chance of getting on the ferry. That ferry swallowed up everything in the lot and more. There is a lot going on there. I would hate to not have transportation.

Well, this is where the question becomes complicated, and gets to the heart of transit. Because a lot of time people like the freedom and openness of taking a car to a secluded area or small town. Which is fun. And it isn't any problem (mostly) when one car does it. But for places like the San Juans, the draw of the place is the solitude and quietness. And also, these areas are a unique habitat zone for many animals, and parking lots and cars can have a negative effect on habitat.
So I can get the idea that for one person, it would be fun to just take off and ride around San Juan Island in a car---but then, what are the effects when hundreds of people want to do that?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Well, this is where the question becomes complicated, and gets to the heart of transit. Because a lot of time people like the freedom and openness of taking a car to a secluded area or small town. Which is fun. And it isn't any problem (mostly) when one car does it. But for places like the San Juans, the draw of the place is the solitude and quietness. And also, these areas are a unique habitat zone for many animals, and parking lots and cars can have a negative effect on habitat.
So I can get the idea that for one person, it would be fun to just take off and ride around San Juan Island in a car---but then, what are the effects when hundreds of people want to do that?

"..Pave Paradise, put up a Parking Lot.." Joni Mitchell

 

[flitcraft]

Did you get a glimpse of the Tacoma Dome, when you were on the Cascades, from the train? Really too bad they couldn't retain the station for Amtrak trains. There is a glass museum now within the old station. My sister visited it and said it's worthwhile.

You can see the Tacoma Dome easily from the train, though it is not terribly impressive, despite being the largest wood dome structure in the world, supposedly. The glass museum is first rate, but it actually is adjacent to the old station. What they did with the grand old train station is to convert it to a federal courthouse. Fortunately, the conversion was architecturally sensitive and even more fortunately, you can enter and look around for free during courthouse business hours, though you will need an ID to enter.