BC Ferries, borders busy as British Columbians head south for Blue Jays, Taylor Swift
Posted July 21, 2023 8:12 am.
Last Updated July 21, 2023 10:59 am.
B.C. -Washington border crossings and BC Ferries terminals were seeing major volume Friday, as many tried to get a head start on what is shaping up to be a busy travel weekend south.
The Toronto Blue Jays have made another trek to Seattle to take on the Mariners, and baseball fans are already flocking across the border.
They’re being joined by Taylor Swift fans, as her Eras Tour makes its stop in the Emerald City Saturday and Sunday nights.
7:45 Estimated #BorderWaitTimesSouthbound#PeachArch 1 Hour#Pacific 1 Hour#Sumas 10 minutes southbound
(#Aldergrove opens at 8am)Northbound
All times less than 5 minutes@CityNewsVAN @jack969 @sonicradio pic.twitter.com/N1yiGlEHUO— CityNews Vancouver Traffic (@CityNewsTraffic) July 21, 2023
As of 8 a.m., border wait times were already more than an hour for Peace Arch and the Pacific Crossing heading south. As of 11 a.m., they were over two hours.
While the Jays game and Taylor Swift concert are drawing major crowds, those aren’t the only events happening south of the 49th parallel this weekend.
A WNBA game and Capitol Hill street party are also scheduled for the weekend, with the Washington State Department of Transport (WSDOT) expecting massive delays across the city.
…READY FOR IT?
Here’s our BEJEWELED Paint Maps comin’ in with STYLE and TAYLORED for all the things happening this weekend!
This is an ENCHANTED and busy weekend, there’s no BLANK SPACE!
We’re LOVERS of showing you all the events and closures happening! Take a look BESTIE! pic.twitter.com/7QflLTXICW
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) July 20, 2023
“Ready for it?” the department tweeted, referencing Taylor Swift’s music in its post.
“Here’s our BEJEWELED Paint Maps comin’ in with STYLE and TAYLORED for all the things happening this weekend!” the WSDOT added, alongside a map detailing the various happenings around the Seattle area for the coming days.
“This is an ENCHANTED and busy weekend, there’s no BLANK SPACE! We’re LOVERS of showing you all the events and closures happening! Take a look BESTIE!”
BC Ferries volume
Things aren’t much quieter for anyone trying to get between Vancouver Island and the mainland, Friday.
A reservation is highly recommended, as BC Ferries sees high volume heading into the weekend.
7:07 A busy @BCFerries weekend for those on the island! #SwartzBay to #Tsawwassen is ticketing the 3pm at 95 per cent sold!
If you see a problem call *1130 or tweet us! traffic every 10 minutes on the 1’s with @ianw1lson @Carrigan1130 pic.twitter.com/XSNj9JpLiD— CityNews Vancouver Traffic (@CityNewsTraffic) July 21, 2023
Many of the sailings are busy, including the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay run.
The ferry service was ticketing late afternoon sailings from Swartz Bay in the morning, after all earlier sailings booked up.
Listen live for the CityNews Ferry Report every :09 past the hour between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays. You can also follow us on Twitter and subscribe to breaking news alerts for the latest.
You can also catch traffic updates every 10 minutes on the ones.
