Olympic trials at the border

Anyone crossing the border between Washington state and British Columbia must be a sports fan by now. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics deserves a medal for the urgency it adds to moving traffic.

Growing crossing volumes and greater security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have all compounded delays that are bad even without the expected crush from the Winter Olympics that begin Feb. 12, 2010.

Last week, representatives from Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell devised a plan to add more resources at the Peace Arch crossing in Blaine. The federal governments in both nations have to sign off on plans to add staff and ensure timely expansion of inspection booths.

The strategy also promotes the use of technology that employs driver's licenses embedded with information-laden computer chips, and would let those drivers qualify for the prescreened NEXUS lanes now reserved for commercial vehicles. Everything is with an eye to moving lines faster.

Drivers in both directions have been trapped in long lines that can last several hours. One reason has been construction on both sides of the border that began in October 2007. Batches of inspection booths are being closed and reopened.

On the U.S. side, additional work on Interstate 5 has lengthened lines and crossing times. The completion date is within days of the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Changes at the border have stirred frustrations, and not just with traffic. Drivers and passengers without passports have been required to show birth certificates and photo IDs since the end of January.

Included in the memorandums of understanding signed last week are plans to improve radio communications between the two nations and to "green" the border by reducing engine idling time and improving access to alternative fuels.

Four new signs went up Monday to give drivers better information about wait times and better flow at other border points.

Each side of the border has an enormous stake in reciprocal trade, but it apparently took the specter of it all going downhill in 2010 for them to act.