Heather said that fourteen bike racks have or will be placed in all nine communities of the MDI region. Thanks to matching funds from MDOT and local donations, each town was able to order $220 worth of bike racks. Jim congratulated the committee on placing so many racks and suggested that members of the committee be with each town as the racks are installed to ensure that they are properly placed. Heather contacted the Bar Harbor Times, and the paper is willing to publicize installation of one of the racks next spring. The committee decided to focus on Southwest Harbor and Tremont for publicity to entice more participation from these towns.

Mary reviewed Jeff Miller’s COA final project to see where he had recommended placement of bicycle racks. His suggestions included parking lots. Mary also passed around a map that she had completed showing where the bike racks are in Bar Harbor.

Charlie Jacobi followed up with Park staff regarding the placement of the sewer line from Otter Creek to Seal Harbor and the possibility for including bike lanes or paths as the sewer is fixed. He reported to Stephanie that the Environmental Assessment for the project was complete and therefore, it was too late to incorporate bike lanes. Stephanie will try to get more information from Charlie.

Mary, Marla, and Heather have been researching documents, such as the MDI Bicycle Plan and the Scenic Byways plan, to look for indications of where people want to bicycle and walk. Mary said that it is hard to separate references for where people want to bicycle and walk from those that indicate where others think that people want to bicycle and walk. Mary spoke with the "Walks and Talks" group at the YMCA to document their thoughts. The Footloose Friends were also mentioned as a good resource. Doug added that the 1993 Bar Harbor Comprehensive plan contained an assessment of sidewalk improvements needed. He wasn’t sure what improvements had been done since then.

Mary, Mollie, Zack, and Zack have been working on inventorying bicycle-related signs on the major roads covered by the MDI Bicycle plan. They recommended placement of 30 "Share the Road" signs, particularly in areas where there are no shoulders entering village centers or connection points with the carriage roads. The group did not address other types of signage, like "Bike Route", because there was some question of which route we should direct bicyclists to. The next step for this group is to recommend specific locations where the "Share the Road" signs should be installed. The group will most likely recommend relocation of some of the "Share the Road" signs that were recently placed on the Eagle Lake Road. Mary is working on a spreadsheet detailing the group’s recommendations.

Jim Fisher described that MDOT plans transportation projects on a 20-year, 6-year, and 2-year basis. The 20-year plan contains very broad-brushed transportation goals for the state and is used to draft the 6-year plan that focuses on transportation corridors (such as the Rt. 1A/3 corridor from Bangor to Trenton). The 6-year plan assesses questions like how important is the road for economic development, is the road unique, does it have intermodal connections, etc. Information on the road corridors is added and the improvements needed are prioritized. The 6-year plan is then broken up into three 2-year implementation plans, called the biennial transportation improvement plans (BTIP). MDOT then allocates funding based on the road improvements listed in the BTIP. Once the BTIP has been set by the state, it’s very hard to move funding around (i.e. projects that are not in the BTIP generally cannot be funded).

Jim said that Hancock County just completed input into MDOT’s 20-year plan last June. There were several recommendations regarding bicycles. He added that MDOT is on the 2004-2005 BTIP and that there isn’t much in it regarding Mt. Desert Island. He said that the 6-year plan is the best place for our committee to provide input regarding the need for bicycle lanes and that the 6-year plan is updated on a rolling basis as every BTIP is completed. The committee can use the recommendations of the MDI Bike Plan for leverage.

Jim added that the biggest project on the island is the backlogged reconstruction of Rt. 3 from Ireson Hill into town. He indicated that MDOT would probably not act on this project until the controversy with local landowners is worked out. There were conflicts about road widening and whether the town or the state needs to pay for stonewall reconstruction along portions of the corridor.

Jim also informed the committee about an upcoming meeting on November 18^th regarding transportation in Trenton, and the possible design of a Trenton Village Center.

Jim described the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC). The state DOT divides Maine up into a variety of geographic divisions. Our region is all of Hancock and Washington Counties. The RTAC is a voluntary board comprised of people representing their communities, specific interest groups, or transportation corridors. In a recent poll, all the RTACs listed that bicycle and pedestrian issues were important to their regions. Sally Jacobs of the Sunrise Trail Coalition is a strong advocate for bicycling in this region. Stephanie will invite local RTAC members, Janet Michaud and Jean Marshall to present at the next bike/ped meeting. Jim added that Bruce Mattson, MDOT’s Division Engineer for the region might also be a good one to make connections with.

Doug informed the committee of the Safe Routes to Schools program, a competitive state grant program to improve infrastructure to enable children to bicycle and walk to school. There are six categories of projects that are eligible (e.g., sidewalk improvements, addition of flashing school sign lights, etc.). Doug suggested that the committee dedicate time at the next meeting to developing suggestions for improvements that the municipalities should consider. Applications are due January 30^th.

The next meeting date is Monday, December 8^th from 4:00 P.m. – 5:30 P.M. at Acadia National Park Headquarters on the Eagle Lake Road. Topics will most likely include continued discussion with RTAC members and MDOT regarding the road improvement process, and the Safe Routes to School Program.