Meeting tonight

Wed, 10/23/2013 - 1:30pm

Car No. 4 from the Rockland, Thomaston and Camden Street Railway, a public transit system in another century.

At Power House Hill, at Glen Cove in Rockport, where the Rockland Thomaston and Camden Street Railway Car Barn sat, servicing electric trolleys that ran along what is now Route 1 from Camden to Rockport to Rockland, Thomaston and Warren. Power was generated at Power House Hill to keep the trolleys going on 21 miles of track. Service began in 1892 and ran for 29 years.

The transit study’s supporting documents are loaded with demographic and economic information specific to the Midcoast. It is all available to read at midcoastplanning.org/transitstudy.html

Car No. 4 from the Rockland, Thomaston and Camden Street Railway, a public transit system in another century.

The transit study’s supporting documents are loaded with demographic and economic information specific to the Midcoast. It is all available to read at midcoastplanning.org/transitstudy.html

ROCKPORT — Should the Midcoast pursue public transit, such as a bus service? Analysis — and potential scenarios — have been developed following a commissioned study and this evening, Oct. 23, the Midcoast Transit Committee will present it all at Rockland City Hall, at 7 p.m.

Consultants from Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc., the San Francisco company that was hired last winter to study the feasibility of a transit system in the Midcoast, will be there to answer questions.

“The public will hear about the range of choices for transit here, assess the pros and cons, and provide direction to the Midcoast Transit Committee in terms of next steps,” said a news release from the Midcoast Transit Committee, a group of interested citizens from towns along a corridor from Camden to Thomaston.

Conversations about the need for, and possibilities of, a bus system were first floated two years ago, during an Oct. 4, 2011 discussion at the Rockland Public Library, when public transit advocate Tim Sullivan and Lee Karker of Coastal Transportation raised the idea of bus service. That meeting included representatives from Friends of Midcoast Maine, Penquis, Pen Bay Healthcare, Gateway 1, and local politicians. They all began to meeting monthly, and a committee was subsequently born on the recognition that public transportation could successfully accommodate a diverse market of users. The committee now comprises two delegates from each of the four involved communities, as well as other interested parties.

Armed with a transportation grant, along with local matching contributions of $1,650 each from Camden, Rockport, Rockland and Thomaston, the committee commissioned a $60,000, 11-month study last winter after circulating a request for proposals.

The Oct. 23 meeting is the third and final in a series of public meetings to inform the public about the information gathered during the study. Previous meetings in June provided an overview of data gathered from online consumer survey, employer survey, data received from area transportation providers and research based on regional and national data.

Thoroughly researched documents support the study, providing up-to-date demographic information and analyses of the Midcoast have been assembled and are available at midcoastplanning.org/transitstudy.html.

“This is a big step, as for the first time we will see what our choices are and what they might cost,” said Don White, chairman of the committee and Camden resident. “It is critical that we get a big turnout for this meeting to generate some good discussion on next steps.”

The Transit Committee met Oct. 10 in Rockport and reviewed new preliminary data from Nelson/Nygaard on possible options.

“The meeting in Rockland will give everyone interested in daily transit between Camden and Thomaston a chance to view the options and ask questions of the study team,” said White.

The public response to an online survey run earlier this year as part of the study was “off the charts, indicating much public interest in the topic,” said White, in the release. “Now, we need to hear what the public thinks of specific options.”

In the last century, there were trains (electric) and buses that ran along the coast on a regular basis, transporting people from homes to jobs and stores. In 1932, the Tolman Bus Service began, with runs on the hour between Camden and Thomaston, providing a way for the local population to move about the region. Those services faded away with the rise of the automobile. Now, it is Coastal Transportation, a subsidiary of the nonprofit MCH, that provides non-emergency transportation in this area, for the elderly, those with disabilities, and those with low income around Knox, Lincoln, and Sagadahoc counties.

More than a decade ago, Camden experimented briefly with a summer bus service that looped from points to the north and south of the town line to the downtown, in an attempt to alleviate downtown parking and traffic pressures. But the experiment failed, and the buses were sold to the Island Explorer on Mount Desert.

“However, during the past several years, localized daily transit systems have met with success in the Bar Harbor area, Augusta, York County, Bethel Area and in the Sugarloaf area,” the release said. “Some of these systems are seasonal.”

The Midcoast Transit Study is to be completed in late January.Those who have questions about the meeting can email Carol Morris at cmorris@morriscomm.net or call 207-329-6502.

Findings of the survey are as follows, written by the committee:

“In summary, a majority of the respondents to the survey were older (over 51 years old) and have access to a vehicle on a daily basis. Many respondents had heard of Coastal Trans, but not as many had actually used it. Those who did use Coastal Trans traveled mostly to Rockport and Rockland, and the purpose of many of those trips was either medical or shopping.

“Respondents generally traveled during regular commuting hours (with 7 to 9 a.m. the highest traveled time slot) and commutes were focused on the four towns: Rockport, Rockland, Camden and Thomaston. For both commuting and other trip purposes, a majority of those responding traveled outside of their hometowns to get the services they needed.

“While many respondents thought that public transit in the region would benefit several groups, fewer thought that they personally would use the service. Some had requests as to where the service would run, or how frequently. However, the overall sentiment toward the study and transit service in Knox County was positive. Click here to see more specifics on how the survey questions were answered.”