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Bar Harbor tour bus to drop off in downtown
I just found this and would be very interested to hear from any folks that had an actual experience with the new set up. Complaints, suggestions, etc.
BAR HARBOR – This Sunday, June 22, the town will experiment with allowing buses carrying cruise ship passengers to drop them off in the middle of town after returning from tours of Acadia National Park. Currently, buses pick up passengers at Agamont Park and return them there without stopping anywhere else in town
Many downtown merchants have been asking for a more centralized drop-off point for years, and the consultant who developed a cruise destination management plan for Bar Harbor last year recommended that the town try to find a suitable location.
The Cruise Ship Task Force, appointed by the Town Council, determined that the best place for buses to drop off passengers might be the south side of Mount Desert Street directly across from the Village Green. But Councilor Paul Paradis, who chairs the task force, told his fellow council members last Wednesday that the group wants to experiment with that location twice in the next few weeks.
The council approved the task force’s request to conduct the test this Sunday and on another day of the task force’s choosing. From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on test days, nine parking spaces on Mount Desert Street – from the Sea of Cotton shop to the Parkside restaurant — will be reserved for tour buses.
Police Chief Nate Young said an officer will need to be stationed at that location throughout the test period to keep individuals from using those spaces. In response to council members’ questions about that use of manpower, Chief Young said, “I don’t believe it will be an additional expense. I will have an extra day person on then whom I can dedicate to that. I still know how to patrol, too, so I don’t think it’s going to have a serious impact on our overall operations.”
Mr. Paradis said there were several reasons for selecting June 22 as the first test day for the in-town cruise passenger drop-off.
“It’s a Sunday, which tends to have the lightest traffic,” he said. “Also, the (cruise ship) Maasdam is in, so there will be a relatively small number of passengers compared to some other days. And it’s in June, so it’s not crazy yet, but approaching crazy.”
Seven tour buses are expected to be carrying cruise ship passengers that day.
“Hopefully it’s not (going to be) a disaster,” Mr. Paradis said. “Pending the results, the Cruise Ship Task Force would like to have the latitude to try a second test on a busier day.”
Assuming the experiments go well, Councilor Julia Schloss asked whether the task force would recommend that the south side of Mount Desert Street at the Village Green be designated as the permanent drop-off location for cruise ship passengers.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Mr. Paradis said. “A lot depends on what comments we get, what problems the Police Department sees and what problems the tour bus operators see.”
Council chair Ruth Eveland asked if a survey of business owners in the area would be part of the evaluation process.
“A formal survey, no,” Mr. Paradis said. “But I’ve spoken to people, and not just in this neighborhood, and asked them to give me feedback good and bad.”
Chris Fogg, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, told the council that his organization would be seeking feedback from business owners, as well.
“We can survey afterwards to see what the impact was. That’s the plan.”
Originally posted at MAINECoastNOW.com
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