https://www.citynews1130.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/sites/9/2020/05/MELEE101-526_2020_132733.jpg
Diana Rubito, foreground, plays with her son Bryce in the afternoon sun where they had the beach nearly all to themselves Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020 in Auburn, Maine. There were not many people swimming and taking advantage of the ideal weather at Crescent Beach Tuesday. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Fewer people were hitting the road on Memorial Day weekend

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YORK, Maine — Memorial Day weekend traffic was down compared to past year for the holiday that marks the unofficial start of the summer tourism season in the state, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority.

Half the number of vehicles travelled through toll plazas compared to the same period last year, said Peter Mills, the authority’s executive director.

The decline was most extreme at the state’s gateway toll plaza in York, indicating fewer tourists from southern New England were hitting the road over the holiday weekend, Mills said.

The authority had predicted fewer people would be travelling because of the coronavirus pandemic. Most events across the state were closed, and out-of-state visitors are required to quarantine.

The Associated Press