May 25, 2007 11:13 am US/Eastern
Hundreds Of Thousands Traveling For Memorial Day
by Mike Schuh
(WJZ/AP)
Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders are hitting the road for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Experts say about 720,000 Maryland residents will travel more than 50 miles this holiday weekend.
As
Mike Schuh reports, traffic jams and high gas prices could discourage potential vacationers, but the weather forecast has some travelers ready to move.
"It really is kind of the official mark of summer vacation," said AAA spokesman Lon Anderson.
Some travelers left for the Eastern Shore Thursday in hopes of beating the rush.
"I'm hoping, which is why I'm leaving today, that there will be a little less traffic than if I left tomorrow or Saturday," said Cindy Zychowicz.
Travel experts advise those planning on leaving to do what Zychowicz chose to do--leave during off-peak traveling hours.
AAA experts also say half of this weekend's Maryland travelers will cross the Bay Bridge.
Officials say 600,000 Marylanders are expected to travel by car and at least 300,000 of them will cross the bridge.
AAA spokesperson Ragina Averella says travelers will be compensating for higher gas prices by shortening the length of their vacations, traveling closer to home and passing up expensive restaurants and hotels for less costly dining and lodging options.
Police also said they will be on high alert, trying to keep the roads safe.
"We're looking at redundancy, to have more troopers out there, marked cars, running radars," said a state police officer. "The big goal is to have no fatals."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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