Southbound border traffic into Whatcom County the highest since 2000

While Whatcom County residents have noted the impact of Canadian shoppers in recent years, traffic numbers indicate 2011 was the first year of significant change.
Last year 14.2 million people traveled southbound across Whatcom County's five border crossings, a 19.9 percent increase compared to 2010, according to data collected by Western Washington University's Center for Economics and Business Research. That's the highest one-year total since 2000, when 14.8 million people traveled southbound into Whatcom County.