Here outside Bellingham, we have what you might call a bedroom community on Lummi Island. Lummi Island is a small island, part of the San Juan Islands. The last census, another one is going on now, put the population at 822. A real estate office on the island states that, as a result of the building boom a few years ago, there are now about 900 houses on the island. I know, and have known over the years, many people who live on Lummi Island. They work in Bellingham and Whatcom County and take the ferry off the island a couple times, or more, per day. The ferry, the Whatcom Chief, has been operating from Gooseberry Point for as long as I can remember and that is a really long time. It is a small ferry and the crossing takes about five minutes. Despite being small, it tends to handle the travelers most days. However, this might all be changing over the next five years. I have been following the newspaper stories in the Bellingham Herald. The county is at loggerheads with the Lummi tribe which actually has control of the land with the ferry terminal on the mainland side. And the latest is that if the county wants to renew the lease on the terminal for another five years, then the tribe wants some improvements made. That sounds uneventful enough, but the other part of the story is that the tribe has said that at the end of five years the ferry terminal must be gone. At this point, county officials are scrambling and saying that they might have to move that terminal from the present location to another location that is closer to Bellingham but farther from Lummi. If they do that, it will turn that short ferry ride into a 50 minute trip. Presently, again, it only takes 10 minutes. If this all comes to pass over the next five years, I think it could have a very negative impact on Lummi Island and the population over there. It sure would not help the real estate market if people could no longer count on quick transportation onto and off the island. They need good access for shopping, doctors visits, work, etc. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith
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