This sign on Hwy. 97 in Oroville was installed earlier this month to let Canada-bound travellers know how long they may have to wait at the Osoyoos port of entry. A spokesman for the Washington state Department of Transportation said the sign is operational, but won’t display information unless there is a backup at the border. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image

OSOYOOS TIMES-October 21, 2009

By Paul Everest - Osoyoos Times

Canada-bound travellers can now get a sense of how long they may have to wait at the Osoyoos port of entry before they ever reach the border.
The Washington state Department of Transportation installed two signs the first week of October that advise travellers heading northbound on Hwy. 97 through Oroville about how long they may have to wait in line at the Osoyoos border crossing.
Information on what are called “variable message signs” is provided from electronic sensors installed in the pavement near the border crossing as well as cameras.
Jeff Adamson, a department spokesman, said one camera will observe a licence plate.
When that plate passes by a second camera, the time it took to reach the second position will be calculated to provide travellers with an estimated wait time.
Adamson said that under Washington state law, the cameras cannot record information from the licence plates.
The first sign is located near the Okanogan River, just south of Oroville, and the second sign is located near the intersection of Hwy. 97 and Westlake Road near the Prince’s Foods supermarket.
Along with the signs, the department has installed two cameras at the border crossing and two cameras roughly two kilometres south of the port that allow travellers to see what traffic conditions are like at the border.
Each pair of cameras points north and south and they are linked to a web page which displays what they see.
For the border’s south-facing camera, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/necam.aspx?cam=9023.
Adamson said the north-viewing camera has to be re-aimed and should be online later this week.
For the north-viewing camera approaching the border, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/necam.aspx?cam=9024 and for the south-viewing camera go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/necam.aspx?cam=9025.
Adamson said part of the reason the signs and cameras were installed has to do with the upcoming Vancouver Olympic Games in February.
Giving spectators and athletes training in Washington state a chance to evaluate traffic conditions at the border might make their travel plans that much smoother, he said.
According to a department website providing information on why the project was undertaken, the cameras and signs were installed “to increase safety, access, and mobility for those on their way to the Canadian border. Mobility has become a significant problem at the US 97 crossing facility into Canada. Wait times have been recorded to be as long as an hour. Monitoring this congestion and providing information to motorists, will allow travelers to make informed decisions for travel to the US/Canadian crossing.”
The signs and cameras were part of a larger transportation project which began this summer that included the installation of a traffic signal system in Omak.
Adamson said the component of the project focused on the border cost $250,000 US and it was completed with the co-operation of US Customs and Border Protection.
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