(January 14, 2014) – The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) is expanding the new Tourism Area and Corridor (TAC) signing program to additional counties.  With support from the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and local communities, TAC’s goal is to improve tourism with highway signs featuring significant local destinations.

SHA is accepting applications for attractions in some counties in Southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and the Washington, D.C. region.

The TAC program provides a network of signs that guide tourists to qualifying attractions along designated corridors.  The new program directs motorists to a generic area such as “Historic Towns.” Once off the mainline, supporting signs will direct motorists to specific destinations. Businesses and attractions must apply to be included as a specific destination.

SHA awarded a multi-year statewide contract for a consultant to review the existing attraction and tourism signing along State-maintained roads in all 23 Maryland counties. The updated program eliminates the distance limitation between the main road and the farthest signed facility and eliminates fees for tourist attractions for the program.

The TAC Eligibility Committee, comprised of government agencies and the private sector, will review all program applications to ensure eligibility.  Once complete, the TAC conceptual plans will be developed to create inclusive corridors of all eligible attractions in a given area that provide recreational, historical, cultural and educational activities to the public.  The locations must meet certain revised criteria, some of which includes:

 

• Available service hours at least five hours a day, and five days a week including Saturday and/or Sunday for a minimum of 30 hours per week;

• Available hours to random, daily visitation from guests without appointment/advance notice;

• Public access to on-site restrooms, water, telephone service and parking; and

• Compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for handicapped accessibility.

SHA representatives continue to meet with county and local officials to finalize project concepts, develop construction plans and begin the implementation of sign installation.  A complete listing of attraction signing criteria, application deadline dates for counties and program information is available at www.roads.maryland.gov/TAC.