How Bryce Canyon National Park can best be served by a transportation plan is a topic up for consideration at the Utah park.

Currently, the park has a shuttle service, but it's not mandatory for park visitors.

The Park Service is conducting a planning study to evaluate the transportation needs and infrastructure requirements to serve visitors to Bryce Canyon. The public is invited to attend an Open House to identify issues and provide information to the NPS that should be considered in development of the plan.

The Open House will be held on Tuesday, November 15, from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Ruby's Inn Conference Room (26 South Main Street, Bryce Canyon City, UT) located just north of the park. Project representatives will provide a brief presentation at 5:30 pm to explain the need for the plan and its objectives.

Through the course of the planning process, the project team will identify transportation-related issues, gather input from park users and the surrounding community, and recommend solutions to transportation management within the park.

The first step in developing the plan is to gain a clear understanding of existing concerns and issues that should be considered in the second step, which involves developing appropriate solutions. From a set of alternative solutions, park staff can determine where and how to make strategic transportation investments.

"We wish to find out what issues are important to local communities and visitors to ensure that they are included in the environmental analysis process," said Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh.

An open comment period will begin on November 15. Those wishing to provide comments should submit them in writing as soon as possible, but no later than December 15 at the Bryce Canyon National Park Planning website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/brca, or e-mail to: Bryce Canyon Information, or Postal Mail to: Bryce Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 640201, Bryce, Utah 84764.

Respondents should include their name, address and e-mail address to be added to the mailing list for more information about this project. Remember that unless requested otherwise, a list of all those that comment during public review periods, including their addresses, is available upon request.

A second opportunity for public comments will be available after preliminary alternatives have been developed, and a final public comment period will be available when the Multimodal Transportation Plan is released. The Environmental Assessment will analyze multimodal transportation improvement alternatives derived from technical information gathered, engineering, resource management and design considerations, and comments provided by the public.