Have Gas, Marylanders Will Travel This Fourth of July

Projections indicate travel over the Fourth of July holiday weekend will be down in Maryland this year, but don’t think that means less traffic on the way to the ocean, officials say.

Travel for Marylanders during the July 4 holiday weekend, which is considered to be Thursday through Monday, is expected to be down 2.9 percent from last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

But AAA projects 760,000 will still travel by land, sea and sky--the fourth highest total this decade--and that estimate could be low, AAA spokesperson Ragina Averella said.

"More people may in fact travel than projected because we’ve actually seen  the gas prices go down," Averella said. "When the survey was done, they were particularly high."

About 652,000, or 86 percent, of projected travelers will be driving to their vacation spot, and Averella said AAA's survey was conducted from May 26 to May 30, when average gas prices in Maryland were $3.85 per gallon. They're now at $3.59 per gallon after five straight weeks of declining prices.

Prices are still are 90 cents more per gallon on average from this time last year, AAA's website said, perhaps contributing to a shifting travel demographic.

Thirty-four percent of Maryland travelers this year are expected to have a median household income of $100,000 or more. Such households made up just 26 percent of total travelers last year.

When asked if gas prices would affect their vacation plans in May, as prices began to drop, local folks had differing opinions on . At least one Arbutus resident said gas prices had “changed everything.”

“With the gas the way it is now, we have to stay local for vacations now,” Brenda Triplett said.

But an Ocean City, MD, council member is trying to lure would-be vacationers like Triplett to town by offering up a portion of his $10,000 council salary to go toward gas for visitors to the ocean resort, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Brent Ashley, who voted for a city proposal that would have put $100,000 toward gas for Ocean City visitors but was canceled despite initial approval, told The Sun he was also getting donations from others in the community, and would be out personally pumping gas through the weekend. He's even started a Facebook page.

Whether folks are enticed by the chance for free gas or not, a popular destination this weekend will likely be Maryland and Delaware beaches, according to a Maryland Transportation Authority spokesperson.

About 495,000 vehicles are projected to travel across the Bay Bridge over the holiday, Teri Moss said. That adds up to about twice the daily weekday average number of vehicles that traveled the bridge in June and July 2010.

All road maintenance and construction projects on the bridge will be suspended starting Thursday at 5 a.m., Moss added, opening up all travel lanes.

To avoid traffic, she recommended traveling Thursday before 2 p.m., Friday before 10 a.m. or after 10 p.m., Saturday before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m., Sunday before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. and Monday before 10 a.m. and after 10 p.m. Drivers can also call 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) to get live traffic updates.

The bridge will be fully staffed with collectors at toll booths and on the road with vehicle recovery technicians, who will change tires and also carry fuel and water, she said. MTA police will also be on patrol, she said.

Other agencies are preparing for high-traffic volume, too.

Gregory M. Shipley, spokesman for the Maryland State Police, told The Baltimore Sun traffic safety will be of top priority this weekend as a larger-than-usual number of  vehicles hit the weekend roads.

"Additional strengthened enforcements will be ordered to focus on aggressive driving, speeding and drunk driving. Much of that patrol will occur on the major interstates, where the bulk of traffic will be," Shipley told The Sun.

As for other modes of travel, AAA projected about 60,000 Marylanders will travel by plane this holiday, up 20 percent from last year, but still accounting for just 8 percent of total travel in Maryland.

About 47,000 will use alternative means like buses or watercraft, an 11 percent decrease from 2010.