A STATUS REPORT ON THE ACADIA NATIONAL PARK'S ITS FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST

Applications of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) are becoming increasingly popular at heavily visited national parks in the United States. Traffic congestion in these national parks causes lengthy traffic delays and safety problems that substantially detract from the visitors' experience at these parks. Applications of ITS technologies at these parks could help alleviate congestion problems and enhance visitors' safety while protecting park resources. In order to facilitate application of ITS technologies at National Parks across the nation, an unprecedented joint venture between the US Department of Transportation and the US Department of the Interior has recently been formed. One of the first initiatives under this joint venture is a field operational test (FOT) of ITS applications at one of the most heavily visited National Parks in the nation. Several National Parks were evaluated for selection as the site for this FOT. High volume of visitors and increasing congestion, among other criteria, led to selection of Acadia National Park in Maine as the site for the test. As one of the initial activities under this operational test, a comprehensive user needs assessment was conducted to identify travel-related information and transportation management needs of Acadia National Park staff, local stakeholders, and visitors to the Park. In response to these needs several ITS concepts have been developed and are being implemented as part of this FOT. This paper provides some background information regarding the Acadia National Park, discusses ITS concepts developed for the Park, and provides a status report for the test.