Traveler information comes to Acadia National Park - Technical News - Brief Article

Public Roads, March-April, 2003

As part of a field test to evaluate the effect of deploying advanced traveler information system (ATIS) technologies in a national park, FHWA is installing ITS technologies to address transportation issues during the peak visiting season at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The ATIS offers travelers real-time information on parking availability, bus arrival and departure times, and weather, and in the future may include other information such as the availability of accommodations and notices of park events.

FHWA provided funding and technical expertise for the installment of several ITS technologies at the national park during the 2002 tourist season, and several more will be implemented in 2003. In October 2002, contractors began interviewing managers and field staff with the National Park Service and the Island Explorer bus service, which are the two key stakeholders in the field evaluation test. Researchers also are surveying park visitors and members of the local business community to assess the impact of ITS technologies on the environment, community, and overall park experience.

A bus equipped with a global positioning system that calculates and relays departure and arrival times to variable message signs posted along its route enables visitors and employees to check the shuttle schedule and navigate the park easily. Other technologies, such as devices to monitor the park entrance and parking lots, are less noticeable to visitors, but they help keep park staff up-to-date on traffic and parking issues. By monitoring the parking lots and enhancing the shuttle service, the staff wants to encourage visitors to take the shuffle rather than their own cars. Overcrowded lots cause visitors to park their vehicles on the sides of park roads, where they trample park vegetation and undermine the quality of the roads.

For more information, contact James Pol in FHWA's ITS Joint Program Office at 202-366-4374 or james.pol@fhwa.dot.gov.