Case Study: The Branson Travel and Recreational Information Program (TRIP)

Ten years ago, no one would have predicted that the sleepy little town of Branson, Missouri would explode to become a major vacation destination for millions of U.S. and foreign tourists. Located in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, Branson holds claim to three mountain-fed lakes surrounded by millions of acres of unspoiled wilderness. The pristine natural surroundings of Branson have always attracted large numbers of visitors interested in the camping, hiking, fishing and water sport opportunities offered. However, in the last decade Branson has become known as the “live entertainment capital of the world.” Branson now boasts 38 music theaters with over 52,000 seats – that’s 9,000 more than in the theaters on New York’s Broadway. The shows in Branson are home to today’s greatest performing artists, making it a mecca for 6 million visitors a year. In fact, its permanent population of just 4,400 swells to more than 40,000 during peak tourist season. This growth in such a short period is extraordinary. But along with this surge come a few growing pains. Most international visitors and many long-distance visitors fly into the nearby city of Springfield, where they can rent cars or join motor coach tours to the Branson area. However, by far the largest proportion of visitors drive, charter a motor coach for the trip, or buy a package tour that includes motor coach transportation directly from large cities within a 600-mile radius. The principal markets for the Branson/Tri-Lakes Region are, in fact, St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wichita, Omaha, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Memphis, Little Rock and Des Moines. Traffic congestion is an unfortunate bi-product of such enormous popularity. The roadway system in and around Branson consists of mostly two-lane facilities, with the majority of traffic entering or leaving the city on US Highway 65 and Missouri Route 76. Route 76 becomes a three-lane facility through Branson, where it is known as “76 Country Music Boulevard,” contains the majority of theaters and attractions in Branson and carries more than 37,000 vehicles per day during much of July and August. Throughout the summer months and into fall, the level of service (LOS) is frequently at F. There are significant efforts underway to improve this situation. Road improvements and construction are going on for routes into and out of Branson. As an additional immediate measure, a number of alternative routes which parallel Route 76 have been constructed within Branson to ease congestion on 76. These alternative routes have been promoted by the City and MoDOT through various marketing efforts and are known as the red, blue and yellow routes with color-coded signs directing traffic to use them. The red, blue and yellow routes are designed to allow visitors to “come in the back door” for a more direct route to their lodging, attraction or restaurant. There have also been plans developed for a regional transit system and local Branson trolleys to carry patrons along Country Music Boulevard. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), particularly those providing rural travel and recreational information to visitors, are another critical element in the toolbox of solutions for the transportation needs of the Branson/Tri-Lakes Region. The Branson Travel and Recreational Information Program (TRIP), one of the first federally sponsored rural ATIS operational tests in the U.S., is a program designed to inform tourists of route options, keep them updated on current traffic conditions, provide a single source repository of tourist and recreational information on Branson and the surrounding Tri-Lakes Area. The system builds upon many of the technologies which have been tested in urban settings. However, with the layout of the streets within Branson and the fact that the city is a tourist town, the approach to implementation has differed greatly to traditional urban ATIS projects.