INSIDE

WTA hears concerns of residents

By Pamala Sheppard

More than 30 Point Roberts residents came out to deliver a clear unanimous message to the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA): We need our van!

At a spirited October 16 public hearing hosted by the Whatcom Transportation Authority at the Point Roberts community center, WTA general manager Richard Walsh and Director of service development Rick Nicholson were treated to an earful by vocal Point Roberts residents, all protesting the planned termination of the WTA community van service.

“We have no mayor, no recreation center, no social services,” Maureen Buckley told the WTA reps, saying the van is one of the few tangible services that the county provides in Point Roberts. “We need support from the county.”

The WTA, pointed out Walsh, is not part of the county, but a public transportation service funded by a portion of sales taxes.

Jim Linde defended the program’s expense by calculating it operates at a cost of only $1,000 a month, or about 9/100ths of a percent of the WTA’s estimated $1.2 million budget. Walsh replied that the criteria for ending the program was not motivated by fiscal concerns, even though the WTA contends that ending the program will result in annual savings of $33,000, a figure disputed by the local volunteer van drivers, who agreed with Linde’s $12,000 figure.

Instead, some of the main reasons for ending the program boil down to decreasing or “stagnating” ridership, possible requirements for disabled passengers, and concerns about prospective insurance liabilities, according to the WTA memorandum of September 20 that was distributed at the hearing.

WTA staff is recommending that a van from the WTA surplus be given to Point Roberts to operate on its own while increasing the WTA Safety Net Bus Service to once a week rather than twice a month to allow riders to get to medical and other appointments in Bellingham.

However, it was pointed out that the surplus vans available do not meet the state requirements to transport students.

The community-use van is frequently used for senior recreation and health opportunities and for transporting students from Blaine so they can participate in sports and other after school activities. WTA feels that services are duplicated by the Safety Net Bus program here. Residents countered that the Safety Net Bus has a structured route to Bellingham and therefore does not service needs in Blaine and Tsawwassen.

The large crowd seemed to take the WTA officials by surprise. “This is a better turn out than Bellingham.” said Nicholson after more than an hour of listening to statement after statement in support of the program. Point Robert’s residents, although vocal, were also positive and respectful, and many speakers thanked the WTA representatives for the van service that has been received already. Nicholson expressed how impressed he was with the amount of participation and the courtesy of the group. Walsh said tapes of the testimony and written statements will by taken back to Bellingham and played to the full committee on November 8, after which a final vote will take place at the WTA board meeting at Whatcom County courthouse at 8 a.m. on November 15.

Walsh said the November 15 meeting is open to the public and suggested anybody wanting to express further support for the program is welcome to attend, to which one member of the crowd replied: “We’ll take the van!”