Border Line -- How T Avoid The Border Blues When Traveling Between Western Washington And British Columbia

The Peace Arch, the monument that marks the international border between the U.S. and Canada at Blaine, is engraved with the words "Children of a Common Mother."

"Children of a common traffic jam" is more like it, especially on weekends and holidays.

Hundreds of vehicles sometimes idle in line at the Peace Arch, the main border crossing on Interstate-5 between Western Washington and British Columbia, as drivers and passengers wait to be cleared by immigration/customs officials.

Driving south into the United States has been slower lately than going into Canada, sometimes with waits of an hour or more on weekends. On the Friday before Easter there were waits of up to two hours at the Peace Arch to enter the U.S.

The delays come because of scanty staffing, a surge of travelers in spring and summer, and because U.S. Customs officials in recent months have been cracking down on drug traffickers (who smuggle B.C.-grown marijuana into the U.S.) with extra questioning and car searches.

For those planning a trip to Vancouver or other B.C. destinations, here are some suggestions for crossing the border with the least delay.

Choose your time

Late morning and afternoon on Fridays and Sundays are very busy both ways at the Peace Arch, but that crossing can be clogged almost any time on weekends or holidays. It's open 24 hours a day, so try early morning or late evening.

Choose another crossing

Most drivers head straight to the Peace Arch and pile up like lemmings. Try these crossings instead:

The truck crossing: This U.S./Canada border station is just a few minutes drive east of the Peace Arch. Look for signs to it about a quarter-mile before the border on I-5 (which turns into Highway 99 in B.C.). Despite the name, the crossing is open to all vehicles - trucks, buses and cars - 24 hours daily.

Lynden/Aldergrove: This border crossing sits in farmland about 15 miles east of the Peace Arch near the Whatcom County town of Lynden (Aldergrove is the town on the B.C. side) yet because of the configuration of roads, using this route adds little time to a Seattle-Vancouver drive. It may even save time since the Lynden crossing often is less busy than the Peace Arch or truck crossings (although savvy Canadians use it on holidays). Note that it's open from 8 a.m. to midnight daily, not 24 hours.

To get to the Lynden crossing, exit at Bellingham (by Bellis Fair Mall) onto Highway 539 and follow it north to the border. Once in B.C., Highway 13 leads from the border to the Trans-Canada (Highway 1); take it west to Vancouver (and get a city map to navigate to downtown on arterials).

Sumas/Abbotsford: If you're heading east of Vancouver - Harrison Hot Springs, the Fraser Canyon and beyond, skip the Peace Arch or Lynden crossings. Go farther east to the crossing at Sumas (Abbotsford on the B.C. side) and hook into the eastbound Trans-Canada. The crossing is open 24 hours a day.

Get a PACE sticker

One way to beat the border lineup is by getting a PACE permit. Intended for frequent travelers, it's an immigration/customs pre-clearance system that lets travelers who have a PACE decal on their car use dedicated northbound and southbound lanes at the Peace Arch and avoid the wait.

The PACE (Peace Arch Crossing Entry) lane for entering the U.S. is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, as is the PACE lane into Canada. (There also is a PACE lane northbound into Canada at the truck crossing, open from noon to 8 p.m. daily, but there's no PACE lane there for southbound travel into the U.S.)

There are hurdles, however. Applicants must fill out both Canadian and U.S. PACE application forms (and pay a fee of about $25 to each); wait weeks or months for approval; and only people pre-approved as PACE participants can be in the car when the PACE lane is used.

For more information, call the U.S. PACE office in Blaine, 360-332-8511. For the Canadian PACE office, phone 604-535-9346.

Take the right ID

By law, Americans going into Canada need proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate or passport. In practice, many travelers carry just their drivers' licenses.

While drivers' licenses don't prove citizenship, they're usually adequate ID (and most travelers don't even have to show them). But Al Watt, Canada Customs' chief of traffic operations, says if there's any doubt about people's citizenship or intentions they can be refused entry to Canada if the only ID is drivers licenses: "It does happen, although not often."

ID is particularly important for children in some circumstances, such as a child traveling with only one parent.

Canadian officials, trying to stop children being taken across the border in custody disputes, may require a letter of permission from the other parent or legal guardian plus a phone number where she or he can be reached. Also, if a child is traveling on vacation with another family, take along a letter of permission from the parents and phone number.