ZION NATIONAL PARK -- Some of this country's most celebrated natural splendors are taking on the characteristics of urban America:
Too many people, too much traffic and not enough parking. That's why Zion National Park will heavily restrict automobile traffic on the 7-mile Zion Canyon Scenic Drive beginning May 26 of next year. All-day visitors will be forced to park their cars in Springdale or at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and take a bus into the canyon.Park officials are implementing the new $8 million transit system and raising the standard park entry fee from $10 to $20 per carload to help pay for its operation -- to protect the landscape and alleviate the frustrations of visiting motorists.
They suspect the bus system, to be used annually during the peak season from April through October, could keep a few visitors away -- but not enough to curb the park's escalating visitation figures.
Many who honked and braked before they hiked and picnicked recently said they can see the need to close off traffic in the canyon.
"It wouldn't bother us in the least," said Bob Merrill, a Californian who parked on the sloping dirt shoulder along the canyon drive for lack of a better option. "I think there is a traffic problem. So, if you can control that traffic, do it."
On a recent weekday at the northern end of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, some motorists felt like they were circling a city block during rush hour.
"We wanted to see Weeping Rock, and we couldn't get in down there," Colleen La Fleche of Tacoma, Wash., said after snagging a parking space at the base of the natural rock formation known as the Temple of Sinawava. "We waited about 10 minutes up here. I couldn't believe it."
It took as long as 20 minutes for others to find parking spots on this midweek afternoon in September. Less patient drivers found illegal parking readily available along the roadside on the edge of fragile habitat.
Tim Miller and Kevin Lee had little trouble finding a spot. They were riding motorcycles, however, and Miller did drive the wrong way on the one-way Temple of Sinawava parking-lot loop to grab a space just as it was being vacated.
"It's not a bad idea to control the traffic. People won't be frustrated with finding a place to park like they are now," said Lee, who traveled in the proper direction around the one-way loop to find Miller holding a spot for him. "But I don't know how well it's going to work. I think it's going to be completely dependent upon how convenient the bus system is."
"If there's no parking down in Springdale," Miller added, "I'm not coming here. I come with the kids to picnic here. If you can't bring a barbecue, an ice chest or camping equipment, that's gone."
Dave Karaszewski, the park's transportation system manager, said visitors still will be able to bring everything from picnic baskets to strollers into the canyon, providing they can squeeze them onto a bus. And 400 new parking spaces -- the same number of spots now available in the canyon -- have been added at the new visitor center.
"Our mission in life for the National Park Service is to protect natural resources and provide visitor services, and in this case we are leaning a little more toward visitor services although that's a very thin gray line between protecting the resources and providing customer service," Karaszewski said. "With the vehicles in the park there has been a lot of vegetation trampling and crushing. The exhaust fumes have had an impact."
Additional parking will be available at businesses in Springdale, and the town has even discussed building a municipal parking lot or a multi-level parking structure. About 1,000 spots are available in the town, Karaszewski said.
"There will never be enough parking if visitation keeps growing the way it is," Karaszewski said of the park, which attracted 2.5 million visitors last year compared to 2 million in 1986 and 1 million in 1972.
"I don't know what will happen in 10 years. If it grows at current rates, people may have to be bused in from St. George. Who knows?"
The park bus system will be divided into two separate routes.
The downtown loop will pick up people throughout the town of Springdale, stopping at or near the community's 16 motels and bed-and-breakfast inns, and drop them off at the Zion Visitor Center. Those buses will carry up to 30 passengers apiece.
The second route begins at the Visitor Center and takes people up and down the canyon, stopping at Zion Lodge, the Court of Patriarchs viewpoint, Weeping Rock and other main destinations and trailheads within the park. Each canyon bus will seat up to 65 passengers.
The buses will run between 6:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. They will stop at each station about every 10 minutes during the busy times of the day, roughly 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with frequency tapering off during non-peak hours.
"This will make it (the park) more pedestrian-friendly and I think people might stop and stay longer in Springdale instead of just buzzing through like people usually do," said Dianne McDonald, director of community development for the town of Springdale. "I've talked to some local people who are looking forward to using it (the bus system). I know the children will (use it)."
There will be no charge to ride the bus, although an individual $4 park entry fee will be charged to anyone who has not already paid the $20-per-car fee. That will make park visitation more affordable for some, and provide a financial incentive for people to leave their cars at their motels outside the park.
Part of the revenue from the increased entry fee will pay for the operation of the bus system. Federal park service funds are paying for the $8 million cost of buying the buses and planning the system. The new entry fee is likely to be in effect this spring, sometime before buses begin rolling on May 26.
Motorists with overnight reservations at the popular Zion Lodge will be allowed to drive their vehicles into the canyon. But those motorists will only be permitted to drive to the Lodge itself and must take the bus to access all points north. Eventually, all cars will be phased out of the canyon, at least during the peak season.
So far, Karaszewski said, the positive comments are outweighing the negative ones.
"People are not happy with the congestion in the canyon and they do not want to be subjected to that anymore," he said. "I've had reports of folks even getting into fist fights over parking spots up there. Tempers flare, people get hot under the collar. That's no way to enjoy the canyon."
The reliance on transit, as well as increased user fees, is a national trend affecting other parks.
The National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Transportation signed an agreement to plan similar projects and transit systems are being developed for the south rim of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. The Grand Canyon plan includes construction of a light-rail mass transit system.
For more information about the Zion shuttle bus system, consult the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/zion/. More information about the park and surrounding communities can be found on the Zion Canyon Chamber of Commerce Web site at www.zionpark.com.