Maine DOT to alter travel advisory plan Hampered tourism key concern

BAR HARBOR – State transportation officials backtracked Monday on a plan to post highway congestion reports on the new 511 travel advisory system, saying they never intended to discourage tourists from visiting some of Maine’s most popular summer destinations and events.

Maine Department of Transportation officials also conceded they did not include the business community in developing the new system, which was launched last week, but are now planning to meet with chambers of commerce around the state to make presentations on the new system.

“I’m very pleased to hear that the coastal communities of Maine are not going to be targeted as sources of congestion for the tourism season that’s about to begin,” said Clare Bingham, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

She described the new travel advisory system as “the most anti-coastal community, anti-tourism, anti-business project I’ve ever seen.”

Bingham raised such a ruckus about the 511 advisory system over the weekend, then followed up with Gov. John Baldacci during a forum in Bar Harbor on Monday, that state officials scurried to make assurances to Bingham and the Bar Harbor business community.

A DOT traffic planner who is spearheading the program acknowledged Monday morning that the 511 system would at times include travel advisories about where traffic congestion was most pronounced, using the popular Lobster Festival in Rockland and the National Folk Festival in Bangor as examples of events where the state would consider posting advisories about traffic jams.

Russell Charette said this would be the first year the DOT posts congestion advisories on the Route 1 coastal corridor in the same way the Maine Turnpike Authority alerts motorists about congestion in southern Maine.

But by the end of the day Monday, state Transportation Commissioner David Cole, after hearing directly from Baldacci, was eager to clear up any misunderstanding.

“We will only be posting traffic reports in the context of an emergency, road construction or accidents,” said Cole, a Baldacci appointee and former executive director of Eastern Maine Development Corp. in Bangor.

“It’s our intention to work with the industry and communities to make sure this can be used as an effective tool and not a deterrent in any way,” Cole said.

The DOT and other partners in the 511 advisory system did not consult with business owners, Cole said, because the state has been providing the information for years in other forms.

“I don’t think we saw it as anything anyone would be concerned about,” Cole said.

But Bingham and other business advocates were concerned that tourists would decide not to visit Bar Harbor and other top tourism destinations, including Acadia National Park, because of traffic congestion reports.

The 511 system allows visitors and other motorists to call 511 and get information on traffic delays due to emergencies, accidents and road construction. The information also is posted on the 511 Web site at 511maine.gov.

Cell phone users may not be able to access the system in all areas of the state, but can call (866) 282-7578 instead.

As of late Monday, the 511 service was out of service, but the Web site was up and the toll-free number also was working.

Maine is among eight states that banded together to develop the 511 system. In addition to travel news, the system will include weather reports and information about ferry and transit services as well as other travel-related services.

Although Bingham was pleased that the state acted promptly to reverse its course on the congestion issue – less than a week before the Memorial Day holiday – she said Monday she’s still not satisfied. She plans to lobby next to remove Acadia traffic and parking lot reports from the 511 system altogether, arguing that if visitors are told that Acadia’s parking lots are full or that there is heavy traffic, they’ll find somewhere else to vacation.

“For many [national] parks, there’s one road in and one road out,” Bingham said. “So when someone calls and learns that the parking lots are full, they figure the park is full and they can’t get in.

“I want the same criteria – accident and construction reports – applied to Acadia National Park that are applied to everywhere else in Maine,” she said. “All high-volume tourist areas are crowded. I think travelers should be informed fairly.”

An estimated 55 percent of all Maine tourists visit Bar Harbor and Acadia, according to state figures. They arrive Down East either by taking Route 1 up the coast and following Route 3 from Belfast to Mount Desert Island, or they get off Interstate 95 in Bangor.

“All the visitors who come to Bar Harbor and Acadia come through all the other Maine coastal towns or through Bangor,” Bingham said.

Cole said DOT officials are planning to meet with Bar Harbor Chamber officials Thursday to allay their fears and talk about the new system. Bingham, however, had not been invited to the meeting as of late afternoon.