A reservation system on Cadillac Mountain, car quotas on Ocean Drive, and even closing the Park Loop Road to private vehicles during peak season are among the ideas under consideration as Acadia National Park forms a transportation plan aimed at improving the visitor experience while preserving natural and cultural resources.
Like many national parks across the country, visitors flocked to Acadia this summer, at some times diminishing the experience due to congestion on roadways and crowds at popular sites in the Maine park. Officials are taking public comments on “preliminary concepts” that could dramatically overhaul how visitors see Acadia. In addition to reservations and quotas, the park could introduce a concession-run bus operation (ending tour bus service), expand public transit, change the direction that traffic flows, and build new parking lots. The park is also trying to improve safety and reduce conflicts among different user groups, such as cars, tour buses, cyclists, and pedestrians.
“The preliminary concepts serve as conversation starters and represent a variety of possibilities that may be included in the long-term management framework for Acadia,” Superintendent Kevin Schneider said in a release. “We have not yet identified a preferred alternative and encourage the public to provide input and participate in this important planning process.”
A newsletter outlining the concepts is available at the park planning website, where comments are being accepted through November 30. For those in the area, the Park Service will hold open houses about the transportation plan November 2 in Prospect Harbor and November 3 in Bar Harbor (see below for details).
Although most of the concepts are focused on Mount Desert Island, the most popular section of the park, reservations and car-free periods are also possible on the Schoodic Peninsula.
During the scoping phase in the summer of 2015, the Park Service received about 300 comments from individuals and organizations. These ideas were used to help develop the preliminary concepts. The latest round of input will be used to create formal options for the transportation plan and an environmental impact statement, which the park hopes to release for feedback early in 2017.
In particular, Acadia officials would like responses to four questions:
- Which specific strategies in the preliminary concepts do you think should be carried forward to best achieve the purpose and address the need for the plan? Why do you think these strategies should be carried forward?
- Which specific strategies in the preliminary concepts do you think would not achieve the purpose and address the need for the plan? Why do you think these strategies should not be carried forward?
- Are there other strategies that should be included in the preliminary concepts that are not already presented? If so, which strategies and why should they be considered?
- What other comments or suggestions do you have?
To comment
- Deadline: November 30, 2016
- Online: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ACADTransportationPlan
- Mail: Acadia National Park; ATTN: Transportation Plan; PO Box 177; Bar Harbor, ME 04609
- In person: 6:30-8:30 p.m. November 2 at Peninsula School (71 Main Street/Route 186) in Prospect Harbor; and 6:30-8:30 p.m. November 3 at Mount Desert Island High School (1081 Eagle Lake Road/Route 233) in Bar Harbor
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Comments
Mount Desert Island is the Yosemite Valley of the East Coast when it comes to overcrowding. Something desperately needs to be done in both places.
Wow. I went to Acadia in May 2008. It was not congested at all. Neither was Bar Harbor. I found plenty of parking everywhere. But that was the start of an economic downturn. It wasn't that long ago we were all worried about declining visitation.
And another thing. I have not been to very many of the great western national parks. I'm 60 today. When I have the time and right situation to travel, will I be able to get in to them? Maybe I should wait for the next recession.
Avoid holidays, weekends you'll be fine. Spend that time in the cities, lots to see in Vegas or SF or Seattle or even SLC. Try visiting by early June or after the kids return to school. Yosemite valley and Zion will always have crowds because of topographic limits. Don't wait until the "perfect" time, just go.
I think National Parks in general should cater less and less to the automobiles and more to the bicycling culture. I have never been to Acadia, but one of the appealing things I'd like to do when I visit that park is to bike the carriage roads with my family on long day adventures. It just sounds more fun than driving around in a car.
The same should apply to other parks. I look at Zion as a prime success story, and will always remember how it was, and how it is now. I remember my first visit to zion being stuck in traffic along that road, and it was not a very appealing experience. I went back many many years later, and they had implemented the bus tram system, and that was a much more pleasant experience. I had no problem sitting in that bus, being shuttled into the canyon, getting off at the Observation point trail, and starting my hike. When you exit off the bus, the park was quiet and civilization felt removed from the canyon. The trams are rather quiet, and I know that even studies have showcased that wildlife have returned to areas of the canyon that they avoided during the years when automobiles ovewhelmed the area. You could hear the birds chirp, and not annoying motorcycles reverberating through the canyon walls.
This is the reason I always feel less inclined to visit Yosemite Valley again, or other spots that are crowded with automobiles. It's just not very fun or a "outdoor nature experience" in my opinion. In the Smokies, during the dog days of Summer, when the park has bicycle days in the mornings at Cades Cove - I think many that take advantage of that will admit, that it is a very pleasant experience and you actually see more wildlife than when the cars are allowed to enter in and rule the area to the point where even bicycling it becomes a bit dangerous. Bicycle days are very popular with families too.
The boomer culture especially is very automobile dependent, and so I think as time goes on and they die off we will see these changes, albeit in slow gradual increments.
My wife and I went to Acadia for 8 days in the first half of June, 2016, about 2 weeks before the Island Explorer was due to start. We were always able to find a place to park without a great deal of difficulty, most times without any difficulty at all. There were a not insignificant number of cars on the road, nor was the roads crowded in the park itself. Parking in Bar Harbor coud be interesting; but, by no means unreasonable. We stayed at lodging on MDI, but not in Bar Harbor. The density of the breakfast dining area (room for aproximately 70 people, if my memory is correct) was denser there, than I encountered in the park, except for Jordan Pond House at lunchtime and, perhaps, for the Acadia NP visitor center. If has leeway in when to go, I would suggest strongly going before or after the busy season.
This is another prime example of why we need more national parks. Acadia is not only beautiful, but it is also the ony national park in the Northeast, one of the most populous parts of the country. No wonder it is often crowded.
There are many other significant places in the region that deserve national park protection. They include Green Mountains, Finger Lakes, Allegheny Plateau, Lake Champlain, White Mountains, Rangeley Lakes, Bold Coast, St. John River, Quabbin, Berkshires, North Shore Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Pawcatuck. We also need to create expanded Cape Cod, Delaware Water Gap, and Maine Woods national parks. Moreover, there is great potential for vast marine national parks off the Atlantic Coast.
Expansion of the National Park System in the Northeast would not only protect places of national importance, but they would also greatly enhance opportunities for public recreation and relieve pressure on our only existing national park — Acadia.
Just wanted to correct Mr. Kellett's statement that Acadia is the only national park in the Northeast. The Northeast Region includes 80 national park units ranging from wilderness areas, coastal habitats, historical and recreational trails, historic sites, battlefields. It is clear that we have to do a better job getting the word out about our national parks so that folks may explore and appreciate the lesser-known natural and cultural treasures of this country. PS - There is now a "Maine Woods" national park - Katahdin.
The National Park Service is changing the way of life for Schoodic Peninsula. The bikers I have seen at Schoodic feel they are the only people who should be allowed here. Most of the local people on the Peninsula have accessed the Park their entire lives. We certainly don't feel comfortable or wanted now due to the campground and the Park. Local fishermen access the Park to check the weather and their gear. The Park is not friendly to locals.