The National Park Service has settled on a plan for reducing parking congestion at Shark Valley/NPS file

A plan to improve parking and cope with flooding at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park in Florida is moving forward after National Park Service staff determined there would be no adverse environmental impacts.

"Not only will this effort address a major safety concern, these improvements will make it more convenient for the public to enter and visit Everglades National Park,” said Superintendent Pedro Ramos. “We appreciate all the public input we received to ensure the planned projects deliver a high-quality visitor experience at Shark Valley.”

The purpose of the Shark Valley Site Plan is to enhance visitor safety and experience as well as park operations at Shark Valley. The site plan is expected to make the Shark Valley roads and facilities more resilient to flooding impacts from intensity or frequency of tropical storm events. The proposed improvements will also minimize congestion along the Entrance Road and in the parking lot, a park release said.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the park considered two alternatives and one “no action” alternative in the Environmental Assessment, which was available for a 30-day public comment period from Feb. 9 to March 11, 2023.

The selected action was Alternative C, which places the overflow parking lot inside the entrance gate in the same general area as the current lot, north of the visitor center. The existing traffic pattern from the Entrance Road through the current parking area will remain. If parking in that lot is full, visitors will be able to proceed to the overflow parking lot. The selected alternative will provide the safest vehicular and pedestrian access to the visitor center and will be the least visually intrusive to the surrounding environment.

The other improvements for this project include raising sections of the tram road, adding shade structures and benches along the tram road, raising and widening the entrance road to two inbound lanes and one outbound lane, adding a second fee station and expanding the first to include an employee restroom, and rehabbing the onsite administrative complex for park operations.

This decision has been made after considering environmental impacts to resources including vegetation, wetlands and soils; wildlife and species of special concern; hydrology and water quality; visitor use and experience; human health and safety; and lightscapes and viewsheds. The NPS will implement multiple mitigation measures and best management practices to protect the natural and cultural resources onsite.