Island Explorer Short Range Transit Plan FINAL REPORT Prepared for the National Park Service and the Maine Department of Transportation May 21, 2007 ISLAND EXPLORER SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Summary 1.1 Introduction ___________________________________________________________________________ 1-1 1.3 Summary of Key findings________________________________________________________________ 1-3 Chapter 2: Review of Previous Studies 2.1 Phase 2 Report: Seasonal Public Transportation on MDI (1997) _________________________________ 2-1 2.2 Visitor Center and Transportation Facility Needs (2002) ________________________________________ 2-2 2.3 Intermodal Transportation Hub Charrette (2002) ______________________________________________ 2-2 2.4 Year-round Transit Plan for Mount Desert island (2003) ________________________________________ 2-3 2.5 Bangor-Trenton Transportation Alternatives Study (2004)_______________________________________ 2-3 2.6 Visitor Use Management Strategy for Acadia National Park (2003) _______________________________ 2-7 2.7 Visitor Capacity Charrette for Acadia National Park (2002)______________________________________ 2-9 2.8 Acadia National Park Visitor Census Reports (2002-2003) _____________________________________ 2-10 2.9 MDI Tomorrow Commu8nity Survey (2004) _______________________________________________ 2-12 2.10 Strategic Management Plan: Route 3 corridor and Trenton Village (2005) ________________________ 2-13 Chapter 3: Onboard Surveys of Island Explorer Passengers 3.1 Summary of Passenger Comments and Suggestions ___________________________________________ 3-1 3.2 Methodology and Response_______________________________________________________________ 3-3 3.3 Group Size and Age of Survey Respondents__________________________________________________ 3-5 3.4 Residency and Overnight Lodging__________________________________________________________ 3-6 3.5 Trip Purpose __________________________________________________________________________ 3-8 3.6 Visitor Travel Modes____________________________________________________________________ 3-8 3.7 Park Entry Permits _____________________________________________________________________ 3-9 3.8 Parking Locations _____________________________________________________________________ 3-11 3.9 Number of Years Utilizing the Island Explorer_______________________________________________ 3-12 3.10 Service Evaluation____________________________________________________________________ 3-12 3.11 Island Explorer Future_________________________________________________________________ 3-13 3.12 Acadia National Park Transit Fee ________________________________________________________ 3-14 3.13 Use of Internet Web Sites ______________________________________________________________ 3-15 Chapter 4: Evaluation of Existing Services 4.1 Campgrounds__________________________________________________________________________ 4-3 4.2 Eden Street____________________________________________________________________________ 4-8 4.3 Sand Beach___________________________________________________________________________ 4-13 4.4 Blackwoods __________________________________________________________________________ 4-16 4.5 Jordan Pond __________________________________________________________________________ 4-19 4.6 Brown Mountain ______________________________________________________________________ 4-25 4.7 Southwest Harbor _____________________________________________________________________ 4-28 4.8 Schoodic ____________________________________________________________________________ 4-34 4.9 Bicycle Express _______________________________________________________________________ 4-37 Chapter 5: Service Area Changes 5.1 Acadia National Park 5.1.1 Hulls Cove Visitor Center _________________________________________________________ 5-2 5.1.2 Jordan Pond House _______________________________________________________________ 5-2 5.1.3 Cadillac Mountain _______________________________________________________________ 5-3 5.1.4 Blackwoods and Seawall Campgrounds _______________________________________________ 5-3 5.1.5 Wildwood Stables________________________________________________________________ 5-4 5.1.6 Sand Beach _____________________________________________________________________ 5-4 5.1.7 Sieur de Monts __________________________________________________________________ 5-4 5.2 Trenton 5.2.1 National Park Welcome Center _____________________________________________________ 5-5 5.2.2 Downeast Transportation bus garage _________________________________________________ 5.5 5.2.3 Jackson Laboratory parking ________________________________________________________ 5-5 5.2.4 Trenton Village Center____________________________________________________________ 5-6 5.2.5 Bar Harbor Chamber of commerce ___________________________________________________ 5-6 5.2.6 Employee Housing_______________________________________________________________ 5-7 5.3 Mount Desert Island Towns 5.3.1 Parking Strategies________________________________________________________________ 5-7 5.3.2 Bar Harbor Village Green __________________________________________________________ 5-8 5.3.3 Hotel and Campground Developments________________________________________________ 5-9 5.4 Intermodal Transportation Services 5.4.1 Bar Harbor-Hancock county Airport_________________________________________________ 5-10 5.4.2 International Ferry Service ________________________________________________________ 5-10 5.4.3 Local Ferry Services_____________________________________________________________ 5-10 5.4.4 Cruise Ships___________________________________________________________________ 5-11 5.4.5 Local Bus Programs _____________________________________________________________ 5-12 5.5 Other Hancock County Developments 5.5.1 Downeast Scenic Railroad ________________________________________________________ 5-13 5.5.2 Schoodic Education and Research Center _____________________________________________ 5-13 Chapter 6: Public Participation 6.1 Advisory Committee Meetings____________________________________________________________ 6-1 6.2 Public Workshop - February 16, 2006 ______________________________________________________ 6-5 Chapter 7: Service Design Alternatives 7.1 Route 3 Corridor (Trenton-Bar Harbor)______________________________________________________ 7-2 7.2 Eden Street___________________________________________________________________________ 7-10 7.3 Sand Beach___________________________________________________________________________ 7-12 7.4 Blackwoods Campground _______________________________________________________________ 7-14 7.5 Jordan Pond __________________________________________________________________________ 7-17 7.6 Northeast Harbor ______________________________________________________________________ 7-20 7.7 Southwest Harbor and Tremont___________________________________________________________ 7-24 7.8 Schoodic Peninsula ____________________________________________________________________ 7-30 7.9 Bicycle Express _______________________________________________________________________ 7-31 7.10 Loop Road__________________________________________________________________________ 7-34 7.11 Transit Hub Connections ______________________________________________________________ 7-38 7.12 In-town Bar Harbor Shuttle_____________________________________________________________ 7-48 Chapter 8: Cadillac Mountain Shuttle Strategies 8.1 Issues and Problems on Cadillac Mountain __________________________________________________ 8-1 8.2 Ownership and Operation of Cadillac Shuttles ________________________________________________ 8-3 8.3 Cadillac Mountain Shuttle Route Alternatives________________________________________________ 8-4 8.4 Service Design Strategies ________________________________________________________________ 8-5 8.5 Infrastructure Requirements_______________________________________________________________ 8-7 Chapter 9: Bus Stop Issues 9.1 Campgrounds__________________________________________________________________________ 9-4 9.2 Eden Street____________________________________________________________________________ 9-5 9.3 Sand Beach____________________________________________________________________________ 9-6 9.4 Blackwoods ___________________________________________________________________________ 9-6 9.5 Jordan Pond ___________________________________________________________________________ 9-6 9.6 Brown Mountain _______________________________________________________________________ 9-7 9.7 Southwest Harbor ______________________________________________________________________ 0-8 9.8 Schoodic _____________________________________________________________________________ 9-9 9.9 Loop Road____________________________________________________________________________ 9-9 9.10 Gateway Express ______________________________________________________________________ 9-9 9.11 Quietside ___________________________________________________________________________ 9-10 9.12 Bicycle Express ______________________________________________________________________ 9-10 Chapter 10: Summary of Recommended Service Changes 10.1 Summer of 2007 through 2009__________________________________________________________ 10-1 10.2 Summer of 2010 through 2016__________________________________________________________ 10-5 Chapter 11: Marketing Strategies 11.1 Tabloid Map and Schedule______________________________________________________________ 11-1 11.2 Internet Site: www.exploreacadia.com