How many Canadian friends did Whatcom welcome back after the border reopened on Monday?

Whatcom County saw more traffic crossing the U.S.-Canadian border once restrictions were loosened on Monday, Nov. 8, but don’t start worrying about finding parking spots at Trader Joe’s or Costco just yet. The Western Washington University Border Policy Institute counted 2,598 southbound personal vehicles at the Pacific Highway and Peace Arch border crossings in Blaine on Monday, Nov. 8, institute director Laurie Trautman told The Bellingham Herald in an email Tuesday. That was a 75% increase from the 1,482 personal vehicles counted at those two crossings Nov. 1 — a week before the U.S. began allowing vaccinated Canadians to cross into the U.S. through land Ports of Entry for travel reasons deemed “non-essential” — Trautman reported.