SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

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kimmar
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SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

Post by kimmar »

Okay this is probably a dumb question, but it seems like it should be an option!

I know NPS is concerned about the overcrowding with car traffic, parking at trails heads and Logan's Pass, etc. which is understandable, thus the new ticketing system.

But is there any discussion/possibility of parking your car outside the park, being picked up by the shuttle and transported within the park so you could still access day hikes?

They do something similar for the Maroon Bells hiking area in Colorado and it works great.
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Re: SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

Post by orin »

I agree that it would be a good idea but for whatever reason it has not yet been been set up. You can come close to that in a couple of places on the east side. The Saint Mary visitor center is outside the permit zone so you could park there just within the park boundary and catch the GTTSR shuttle buses. If the parking area there was full you could park in the town of St. Mary and walk the half mile or so to the visitor center shuttle stop. There is also an East Side Shuttle that runs between Many, St.Mary and East Glacier. It is not free and has a more limited schedule (no idea what the 2023 schedule is like) but I have parked at the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier and shuttled to Two Medicine for hiking.
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Re: SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

Post by zozeppelin »

Agree, an improved shuttle system would be really appreciated. I see a couple ways:
1) remote parking without entry ticket requirement as mentioned
2) increased shuttle frequency
3) increased shuttle coverage (make the Two Medicine- Many Glacier - St. Mary a NPS shuttle; north fork would be really nice for hikers but probably hard to justify- but even twice a day would be huge)
4) increased shuttle season (‘September is the new August’)

The real question is what is the root problem: is there a road traffic issue, trail traffic issue or parking issue? It seems the it is parking, which is the easiest to solve in my opinion - make parking tickets.

Some parks, like Zion, don’t allow any personal vehicle traffic on the road - shuttle only.

The second question is when there were backups - why? Entrance station delays paying fee? Apgar parking?

All that said, ‘driving the iconic Going to the Sun Road’ is a thing, so I would propose parking tickets, eliminate driving tickets (with huge fines for parking), and enhanced shuttle system.

My improbable vision would be self-driving electric shuttles (like Yellowstone piloted), that would help with the frequency issue but probably be impossible due to road hazards.
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paul
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Re: SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

Post by paul »

I'm not sure I would trust self driving shuttles on the Sun Road. :lol:
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
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Re: SHUTTLE SYSTEM OPTIONS?

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