1960’s visitor center and ANP headquarters, currently
housed in 1930’s era buildings. Both facilities are
undersized for current needs and have a host of
issues ranging from inadequate access to substantive
energy inefficiencies.
Interpretation and Education Facilities
The units of Acadia National Park outside of Mt.
Desert Island have also received facility upgrades
in recent years. At the St. Croix Island National
Historic Site, a new entry and arrival were developed in
2003 together with an interpretative trail featuring
life-size bronze statues depicting the 1604 French
settlement on St. Croix Island. In 2009, the NPS
received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
funding to renovate the former naval communications
facility on the Schoodic peninsula into a campus for
the Schoodic Education and Research Center. The
project transformed an aging military base into a
pedestrian-oriented campus in which academic,
residential and social centers are linked through a
hierarchical system of pathways and open spaces.
The project employed sustainable design solutions
to comprehensively address building renovation
and reuse, landscape rehabilitation, and
reorganization of pedestrian and vehicular
circulation systems.
18 BSLA
100
Transportation
Recognizing the growing impact of motor vehicles
on park resources, the General Management Plan
advocated for capping parking at current levels
and establishing a public transportation system
serving the park and surrounding communities. The
Island Explorer shuttle bus began service in 2002
and has been highly successful, drawing over two
million riders in its 10 year history. Bus stops and
staging areas have been created throughout ANP
and the island towns, fostering numerous successful
projects including the pedestrian and circulation
improvements at the Jordan Pond House and the
award winning renovation of the Bar Harbor Village
Green, which serves as the principle hub for the IEX
system. Construction will begin this fall on improving
seven additional bus stops in ANP.