Traffic Patterns in the MCOG Region
Utilizing StreetLight data to explore travel between towns, to major cities outside of the MCOG region, and to major employers.
The Midcoast Council of Government region spans from Brunswick to Stockton Springs on the coast and includes inland communities from Bowdoin to Jackson.
This series of maps and data is an initial exploration of movement patterns within the MCOG region. This data will be expanded upon and used for a variety of projects related to transportation planning. The following maps show traffic between towns within the MCOG region, from towns to major employment areas outside of the MCOG region, and from towns to specific major employers within the MCOG region.
A few notes:
A general definition of a labor market area (LMA) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is an economically integrated area within which individuals can reside and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change jobs without changing their place of residence.
The following data comes from StreetLight, a big data platform that utilizes GPS navigational devices and location-based services to obtain incredibly accurate transportation data.
The maps to the right illustrate movement from the MCOG region into the Brunswick labor market area (LMA). The line in the middle is a slider that can be manipulated to show maps on either side. The map on the left represents all traffic, regardless of the trip purpose. The map on the right shows only home-to-work trips. Each line represents a number of trips, coded by color and width. Note that the colors for the two maps correspond to different values.
The Bath-Brunswick-Topsham region unsurprisingly attracts the most traffic, both in terms of all trips and home-to-work trips. Wiscasset is a smaller but significant player.
The Boothbay Harbor LMA is the smallest in our region, but it still draws from distant towns like Brunswick and Waldoboro. The only significant home-to-work pattern is between Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor.
The Waldoboro LMA has a diffuse pattern with significant connection between rural towns. The major centers are Damariscotta and Waldoboro for both all trips and home-to-work trips.
The Rockland-Camden LMA has a diffuse pattern with significant connection between rural towns. However, the major traffic and employment areas are along the Route 1 Corridor and into the St. George peninsula.
The Belfast LMA is highly concentrated around Belfast, with very little traffic happening between other towns, especially in the map of home-to-work trips. Given the rural nature of Waldo County, this map is unsurprising that Belfast is a central hub.
Previous maps have shown movement between towns, but this slide investigates movement within towns. The majority of trips, including home-to-work trips, begin and end in the same town.
The maps to the right show vehicle movement to major towns or cities outside of the MCOG region. Augusta has the largest catchment area, with high volumes coming from Richmond, Whitefield, and Jefferson. Similarly, Auburn and Lewiston both receive significant traffic from Brunswick. Brunswick also supplies significant traffic volume to Freeport, Portland and to a lesser extent South Portland. Bangor receives some traffic from Waldo County.
Note that the colors on these two maps differ by a magnitude of 10 from one another.
These maps take a closer look at the major employers in the area to see which towns were commuting to those employers. The small blue patches depict employers of 50 employees or more (data from Maine Center for Workforce Research and Information).
Most of the traffic centers around the LMA centers. and the Route 1 corridor. There is relatively little traffic in the Waldo County and inland communities.
While this Story Map provides a broad understanding of movement across the MCOG region, future Story Maps will focus on specific regions, routes, and times to inform transportation planning projects such as intersection analysis and public transit routes. We welcome any feedback on this Story Map.
What else would you like to see on a Story Map about the MCOG region? Email our GIS specialist, Charlotte Nutt, at cnutt@midcoastcog.com for any questions or comments.
Thank you for reading!
