Acadia National Park, Data Collection and Evaluation Report: Park Loop Road, Sand Beach Entrance Station, Sand Beach, Jordan Pond, and Eagle Lake

Details

• Creators:
  Littman, Michael ; Keeney, Kristine ; O'Connell, Nineveh ; Broder, Ali
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. National Park Service
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Data collection
  • Advanced rural transportation systems
  • Advanced traveler information systems
  • Congestion management systems
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT-VNTSC-NPS-26-04
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Maine
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Description:
  Acadia National Park (ACAD) faces increasing visitor demand and congestion at key sites including Park Loop Road, Sand Beach Entrance Station and parking area, Jordan Pond, and Eagle Lake. This report documents data collection, analyzes transportation challenges, and presents actionable recommendations to improve the visitor transportation experience that emphasizes public transportation to reduce congestion and minimize resource impacts. Field data collection included computer vision video analysis of right-lane parking on Park Loop Road, a pneumatic tube counter on Schooner Head Road, and license plate turnover tracking at key sites. Findings reveal that peak entrance demand exceeds processing capacity, causing queue lengths up to 600 feet in the late morning and early afternoon. Parking lots reach full occupancy by midmorning, resulting in turn away rates as high as 78 percent and encouraging right-lane parking. A phased intervention framework is recommended; including installing a transit express lane on Park Loop Road ahead of the Sand Beach Entrance Station and terminating at the Sand Beach parking area, executing a phased four-year elimination of right-lane parking, restoring parking pavement markings, deploying real-time Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), and implementing a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategy to discourage driving and parking demand, and shift trips to transit and non-motorized modes. The recommendations contained in this document are advisory in nature and are provided to support informed decision-making by NPS and its partners. Adoption or implementation of any action identified herein is solely at the discretion of NPS and its partners.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93864/dot_93864_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 17.73 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:794d61fa03732c1f132e92b713499adfc0bd6d2d21c2a3762958d458b0c490b5f1846ec159a773e4219df4274e30c56195b3aaf402a75f76cee7d2409ed63b52