Bryce Canyon Wants Your Opinion On Bike Trail Inside Park
The Park Service has proposed building
a “multi-use visitor path” connecting Bryce Canyon City, Dixie
National Forest, and popular overlooks and trailheads in Bryce
Canyon National Park. The path would be used by pedestrian and
bikers.
An open house to discuss the plan will
be held tomorrow (Oct 14, 2014), 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bryce Canyon City
Public Safety Building, 70 W. 100 North, in Bryce Canyon City. People
not able to attend the open house can make comments via the comment
link in the left column on this
page.
The initial portion of the trail would
run some 7 miles, from Bryce Canyon City to Inspiration Point. It
would probably be extended another mile to Bryce Point. In the
future, the trail could connect with the route down Red Canyon,
providing some 21 miles (one way) of interconnected trail.
Officials hope the trail will reduce
traffic congestion within the park, while also providing an
enjoyable, healthy travel alternative.
Below is a summary of the proposal
provided by Bryce Canyon.
Bryce Canyon National Park Multi-Use
Path
The National Park Service (NPS), in
cooperation with the United States Forest Service (USFS), Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), Utah Department of Transportation,
Garfield County, and Bryce Canyon City, is proposing to design and
construct a multi-use visitor path connecting Bryce Canyon City,
Dixie National Forest, and popular viewpoints and trailheads in Bryce
Canyon National Park. The proposed project would begin at the shuttle
bus staging area in Bryce Canyon City and continue through Dixie
National Forest to key developed visitor use areas in the park.
The primary purpose of the proposed
project is to relieve safety issues for all visitors who choose to
use nonmotorized transportation-such as walking, jogging, cycling,
and cross-country skiing-to experience the park and adjacent United
States Forest Service areas near Bryce Canyon City. Increases in
visitation at the park (30% increase between 2008 and 2012) are
leading to transportation system capacity issues and traffic
congestion. Cyclists and pedestrians need a way to travel to and
within the park that is more safe, provides a better visitor
experience, promotes nonmotorized travel between nearby communities
and the park as well as between key destinations in the park. The
proposed path project would also connect to the existing
transportation system, including visitor shuttle buses, hiking trails
and walking paths, parking lots, and roads linking major visitor
attractions and facilities with both nonmotorized and motorized
transportation modes. Visitor safety would be improved by separating
motor vehicles from bicyclists, pedestrians, and other nonmotorized
user groups where possible. The path is also intended to help manage
congestion, improve visitor experience, and provide alternative means
of accessing United States Forest Service and National Park Service
lands. Doing so would enhance the parks transportation system by
connecting the parks gateway communities with high visitor use areas
along the canyon rim in the Bryce Amphitheater and other key features
of the park. To facilitate easy transition between transportation
modes, the proposed project would connect Bryce Canyon City to
current and future multimodal transportation hubs in the park as
identified in the Bryce Canyon National Park Multimodal
Transportation Plan.
Contact Information
Dan Cloud, Bryce Canyon National Park,
at Daniel_Cloud@nps.gov or (435) 834-4720
Nick Glidden, Dixie National Forest, at
nglidden@fs.fed.us or (435) 865-3747
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