In the hopes of driving local traffic to Mauch Chunk Lake Park this summer, Carbon County opted for an experiment to offer bus service to four communities on the Saturdays in the summer, and then piggybacked that service and additional parking to visitors in October.

The proposal for a beach bus first came up for a vote in April, but it wasn’t until three months and four votes later that the county in a 2-1 vote moved forward on the partnership with LANTA, which operates Carbon Transit.

The bus served a total of 65 riders of Nesquehoning, Lansford, Summit Hill and the east side of Jim Thorpe from July 4 through Labor Day.

AJ Jordan, LANTA manager of planning and scheduling, said two weeks ago that the beach bus had “modest ridership” but noted that some riders, mainly from the Lansford Midrise, said that this was the first time they were able to access the lake “which is exciting.”

“That service was never intended to form a profit,” Jordan said, noting that it made $130, leaving a balance of $2,846.60.

However, the county’s second decision to offer parking with weekend shuttle service from Mauch Chunk Lake Park into downtown Jim Thorpe during the October Fall Foliage Festival weekends proved a good decision.

With that service, a total of 2,727 riders utilized the shuttle service after purchasing a parking spot at the lake. This was added as a way to take traffic out of the downtown, which already gets clogged by visitors trying to find parking. This year, thousands of visitors flocked to Jim Thorpe and on one weekend, forced the borough to shut down the town, making travelers continue through without being able to park.

Jordan said that overall, the cost to the county between the two services totals $6,826.88.

He pointed out that this bump in ridership will help the company secure more state funding for the Carbon services. Typically, 4,700 riders utilize Carbon Transit annually without these two shuttle services.

Angelia Stec, parking supervisor for the county, said that the reserved parking at the lake in October generated $6,296.38 and served 615 vehicles.

“The feedback from guests at the end of the day upon their return to Mauch Chunk Lake Park was all positive,” Stec said. “It truly saved a lot of people the hassle of finding a space last minute.”

Jordan said that there were some bumps in the road with delayed wait times due to excessive traffic, but said moving forward, more planning could help rectify some of the issues. Jim Thorpe police partnered with Stec to maintain communication to help keep service moving.

Looking ahead, Stec said that she has had interest from visitors and residents asking if the county will offer the parking and shuttle service from the lake during any future events in Jim Thorpe.

“I think we should continue this in the future. It was a great program. It was not only beneficial to LANTA and the county, but it was beneficial to tourists and all the locals as well,” she said.

Parking in downtown Jim Thorpe has become a problem as the town’s tourism industry grew.

Since the pandemic, thousands of visitors flock to the town weekly for train rides, outdoor recreational activities such as hiking and biking, visiting quaint shops and enjoying the old-world architecture that boasts deep roots in the region’s history.

In the last year, the county-owned parking lot was closed frequently due to reaching capacity. When this happened, it left visitors scrambling to find other parking, sometimes in residential areas around the borough or driving around for significant periods of time until a spot could be found.