Grand Teton National Park officials are not proposing to lower the number of people that can travel the Moose-Wilson Road corridor at any one time, but rather believe they have the tools to lessen their impact.
Through better designed parking areas, paving an unpaved section of the road, designated pullouts, and reduced speed limits park officials believe the current peak capacity of 550 people in the corridor can be handled without impacting the resources in the area.
Studies by the Federal Highways Administration "showed that average traffic volume in the corridor during the busiest times of the year was approximately 200 vehicles at one time," park officials said in a release looking at the road corridor. By using a 2.7-person mulitplier per vehicle, the staff came up with the 550 capacity limit.
The studies, based on 2013 traffic flows, showed that August was the most popular month for driving the scenic corridor that stretches from park headquarters at Moose to Wilson and Teton Village, with 198 vehicles on average in the corridor at any one time.
If the park resorted to a queuing system to control the number of vehicles on the road at any one time, "a wait would occur on 20 to 25 days of the season. These short waits (7-11 minutes on average) would only occur during the middle of the day, from roughly 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The queuing lanes would be designed to accommodate all waiting vehicles within the park."
However, the officials noted, if a queuing system was needed due to traffic patterns, park visitors might alter their behavior and avoid the road corridor during the busiest times of the day.
"The Draft Plan/EIS allows for adaptive management of the capacity. Through monitoring, if it is determined that observed conditions do not match desired conditions for the corridor, the National Park Service could adjust the capacity either up or down in order to meet the goals of the plan."
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This kind of idea sounds encouraging. I hope it passes muster and sets an example for other parks.
The idea of "carrying capacity" is a new concept to many Americans and the idea that there might actually be a limit based upon HUMAN carrying capacity may be an especially shocking idea to some. After all, aren't humans here to USE the earth?
After all, aren't humans here to USE the earth?
Yep, and as this example shows, with a little ingenuity and planning it can be done "without impacting the resources in the area." Shutting down access isn't the only alternative.
Yup. But there's a big difference between use and ABuse.
In Utah -- and several other western states -- the environmental motto is "Multiply, multiply and pillage the earth."
This is a step toward helping to at least slow that goal a bit.
Agreed. Use does not equal abuse
Really, can you show us where that motto is published and who created it?
More (paved) roads usually create more traffic, better designed (=bigger?) parking areas do the same - while speed limits are mostly ignored. Sounds like a bad plan for me.
"Through better designed parking areas, paving an unpaved section of the road, designated pullouts, and reduced speed limits park officials believe the current peak capacity of 550 people in the corridor can be handled without impacting the resources in the area."
Did no one read this statement? In short, the Asphalt Pavers Association, in "partnership" with the Federal Highway Administration, is proposing the elimination of wilderness. Get it? This is not about preserving wilderness just because the bureaucrats are using the term "carrying capacity."
Here's how to preserve that corridor, borrowing a quote from Joseph Wood Krutch. "Congress (and the public which elects it) can always be expected to hesitate longer over an appropriation to acquire or protect a national park than over one to build a highway into it. Yet there is nothing which so rapdily turns a wilderness into a reserve and a reserve into a resort."
You want to preserve this "corridor?" Tear the highway out, or, at the very least, make is so rutted and inconvenient that its "carrying capacity" is instantly reached. Otherwise, you know what you're going to get? Another Jenny Lake. Preservation does not begin with asphalt. It rather begins with common sense.
Believe me, once the road is "improved," the "peak capacity" will instantly change--up. That is history, and especially the history of this park. Jackson is driving the planners to make, yes, a Grand Teton Resort. The Park Service should know better, but also remember the state--Wyoming. They have always wanted a resort, as well.
Ed Abbey had it right when he opined that the Park Service never has enough money to find good solutions for problems, but always has money for more asphalt.
Political pressure to turn the Moose- Wilson Road into a turnpike has been terrific for a long time. At least the NPS is standing up to the pressure. For the time being, at least. And maybe, just maybe, if we are wise enough to start trying to educate visitors about the Enabling Act and its delicate balancing act; maybe if we introduce the concept of "Human Carrying Capacity," we might someday be able to call upon a wider segment of public support than is available now when so many are simply unaware of the challenges faced by park managers.
I suppose that political pressure is coming from those with the motto "Multiply, multiply and pillage the earth.". But then since you haven't been able to identify who actually uses that as a motto, I'll just put this last claim in the usual baseless accusation file.
I understand Alfred's point. To me, roads are like closets, no matter how big you make them, they will fill up. Alfred would prefer not to pave roads. He would appear to be in the minority as the paved road sections of the parks are the areas that 97% of the visitors stick too. There are massive areas that are infrequently visited and are virtually undisturbed. This project would appear to be a minimal one that "can be handled without impacting the resources in the area."