Date: March 22, 2017
Contact: John Kelly, 207-288-8703
BAR HARBOR, MAINE – The National Park Service (NPS) is hiring up to five Visitor Service Assistants to help manage traffic and parking at the busiest locations in Acadia National Park this summer and fall. The NPS is piloting this program to help inform and develop the park’s Transportation Plan.
The NPS is preparing the Transportation Plan to determine ways to provide safe and efficient transportation for visitors while ensuring the protection of park resources and values. Last November, the NPS released preliminary concepts that identify a range of possible transportation and visitor use management strategies for the park. A newsletter that describes the preliminary concepts is available online at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/acadtransportationplan. The NPS is using public comments on the preliminary concepts to help develop alternatives for the Draft Transportation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, which is expected to be released later this year.
The Visitor Service Assistants will be uniformed NPS employees assigned to key locations in the park, including Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond, and Sand Beach, at times when traffic congestion and parking challenges are most likely to occur. The Visitor Service Assistants will be on the ground to help visitors and improve safety and traffic conditions. Their duties will include providing visitor information, assisting with traffic control, collecting visitor use data, assisting with park entrance pass compliance, and helping park rangers as needed. Funding for the Visitor Service Assistants will come from fees collected from park entrance pass sales. The NPS is seeking qualified candidates through March 31 to fill the five positions. For information on applying for the positions, please contact Park Ranger Darren Belskis at 207-288-8775.
“We look forward to having Visitor Service Assistants available at key locations in the park this summer and fall to help manage traffic and improve the experience of visitors,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “By committing park staff to this effort, we hope to better understand the issues and generate ideas for managing traffic and parking through the Transportation Plan.”
Transportation issues at Acadia National Park are diverse and complex. Visitors travel to and within the park by private vehicle, tour bus, bicycle, ferry, Island Explorer bus, and other modes. A parkwide transportation plan is needed to determine ways to improve safety, reduce congestion and crowding, avoid impacts to park resources, and provide visitors with a high-quality experience. For more information on the Transportation Plan, please visit: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/acadtransportationplan or contact John Kelly, Management Assistant, at john_t_kelly@nps.gov or 207-288-8703.
