If you've been to the Yosemite Valley in the summer, you know what a headache it can be to get around, what with all the traffic. Well, Yosemite National Park just received $1.3 million to go towards easing the transportation nightmares.
Of course, that's no easy task. The valley gets seriously jammed in spring and summer, and without a requirement that folks park their rigs and use the park's shuttle system, nightmares likely will continue.
Still, the $1.3 million received from the Federal Transit Administration's Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program will help in little ways. Money will be available to fix any problems in the existing bike paths. Some will be spent on improving the valley's shuttle system. And some will go towards producing real-time updates on the park’s web page to allow visitors to see actual traffic counts at all entrances into the park. In addition, it will also allow visitors to view a model of traffic congestion throughout multiple locations within the park.
The bottom-line goal when it comes to transportation in the park, Yosemite officials say, is to reduce congestion during the busy summer months, as well as to conserve the natural, historical, and cultural resources.
An additional $1.6 million in funding was given to the Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTS) to purchase three clean diesel buses. YARTS has been operating in the Yosemite area since 2000 and has since provided alternative travel into Yosemite for 515,000 riders.
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Comments
It's about time!! Because of all the congestion, it's easier to walk from your location to your destination. You actually get their faster than the bus & cars!!
This is great news for Yosemite! Reducing traffic and providing alternative forms of transportation within and to our national parks is an exciting way that we can address the issue of air pollution. This spring the Fresno Council of Governments will be studying the possibility of a transportation system between the City of Fresno and Yosemite and Fresno and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. A transportation system would provide easy access to the parks from Fresno and would help to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions that threaten our local national treasures. I encourage everyone to voice their support of the study and other similar efforts to their local governments.
Emily Schrepf
Sr. Coordinator, Clean Air and Climate Change
National Parks Conservation Association
eschrepf@npca.org