Item 8_NPS Muir Woods Prohect_131104

Muir Woods Transportation and Access Site Improvements
Project Purpose, Need and Objectives
PROJECT PURPOSE
The purpose of this action is to better manage Muir Woods visitor demand and transportation
services in order to improve the visitor experience and safety, improve existing facilities, and
reduce on-going impacts to natural and cultural resources from the existing transportation
system.
The NPS action is in support of park goals identified in the park's General Management Plan
(Draft, 2011; Final anticipated, 2013) and will integrate NPS objectives with the interests of
Marin County, Mount Tamalpais State Park, and the communities that neighbor Muir Woods.
NEED FOR ACTION
The project is needed to address serious longstanding problems with traffic, safety, park
resources, and visitor experience caused by growing visitor demand. The resulting conditions
do not meet park goals outlined in the GMP and Watershed Management Plan for much of the
year.
Traffic and Safety
Traffic and safety problems include a congested entry experience on upper and lower Muir
Woods Road and in the monument's tight parking lots where cars, buses, bicyclist, and
pedestrians mix. This congestion contributes to back-ups on the surrounding roadway network
in various areas, such Shoreline Highway at Tamalpais Junction.
•
Traffic congestion is resulting in safety concerns such as when parking areas are full
visitors park on Muir Woods Road shoulders and walk over a mile to the park entrance.
•
Visitors walking along Muir Woods Road to the park entrance are in the roadway with
heavy visitor traffic, including large vehicles such as tour buses and park shuttles,
presenting a safety hazard for both pedestrians and vehicles.
•
These safety concerns are exacerbated by the fact that Muir Woods Road is a narrow
two-lane narrow and is not designed for shoulder parking or pedestrian traffic.
Natural Resources
Unregulated shoulder parking, traffic congestion, and lack of designated pedestrian pathways
are causing degradation of the natural resources and habitat in the Redwood Creek watershed.
This watershed is home to several threatened and endangered species, among them Coho
salmon, steelhead trout, and northern spotted owl.
•
Road shoulder parking, in some areas, has destroyed native vegetation and increased
erosion. Off-road and off-trail pedestrian travel also contributes to these impacts.
•
Sediment and other roadside pollutants from pedestrian and vehicle traffic along the
Muir Woods Road corridor are entering Redwood Creek, degrading water quality.
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Cultural Resources
Road shoulder parking and off-road/off-trail pedestrian travel also has the potential to impact
cultural resources found at Muir Woods.
•
The area surrounding Muir Woods likely contains undiscovered prehistoric resources
that may be destroyed or degraded by the current use.
•
Other important cultural features with the potential to be impacted include the historic
Dipsea Trail, Lower Conlon,Avenue intersection, and entrance to Muir Woods.
Visitor Use and Access
The experience of most visitors to Muir Woods is diminished by traffic conditions, unmanaged
parking at the Woods, gaps in the surrounding trail system which do not connect parking to the
entry plaza, and aging and inadequate facilities in the entrance area.
•
On busy days, existing conditions cause visitors to circle looking for traffic, park long
distances from the entry, and create safety concerns (discussed above) that detract from
the overall visitor experience to Muir Woods.
•
With the lack of a safe pedestrian corridor and inadequate orientation, visitors are also
faced with a confusing and dangerous approach to the park.
•
This lack of orientation to designated trails and on to the entry plaza, results in confusion
and use of undesignated trails to reach their desired destination.
•
For those who choose not to arrive by private automobile or commercial tour bus, public
transportation is limited in scope and availability, making it difficult or impossible to
access Muir Woods by this method.
Park Facilities and Infrastructure
The existing entrance area includes aging, incomplete and undersized infrastructure. Most
facilities date to the 1960s.
•
Heavily used trails are in poor condition with rutted, uneven surfaces, failed
.embankrnents and culverts. Many do not meet accessibility guidelines.
•
The restrooms are undersized for most visitation days and often result in long lines for
the visitor.
•
Parking lots are narrow and crowded; most lack pedestrian paths which results in visitors
to mixing with vehicles.
•
The entrance plaza was converted from a small asphalt lot in 2010 but aspirations for a
more functional, natural and attractive space has not been realized.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES '
Project objectives are "what must be achieved to a large degree for the action to be considered
a success" (NPS 2001). All alternatives developed and selected for detailed analysis will meet
project objectives to a large degree and resolve the purpose of and need for action. Objectives
are 'grounded in the park's establishing legislation, purpose, significance, and mission goals of
the park, and are compatible with direction provided in the park's GMP. The following are the
project objectives:
Traffic and Safety: .
•
Better manage vehicular access to Muir Woods, including car, shuttle, bicycle and tour
bus circulation and parking, to enhance visitor safety and the visitor experience. This
management includes providing a safe pedestrian pathway from all private vehicles and
reducing or eliminating informal roadside parking spaces.
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•
Reconfigure car parking, and where possible, increase the capacity of parking in the
vicinity of Muir Woods National Monument to continue to meet demand during off-peak
periods.
•
Facilitate access to the park by public transit by providing shuttle loading and unloading
areas with sufficient capacity to meet managed peak shuttle and commercial tour
demand and that reduce potential conflicts with other visitors (those in cars, bicycles,
and pedestrians).
•
Continue to provide access for park operations and staff, as well as access for
emergency vehicles.
Natural Resources:
•
Minimize impacts to park resources due to visitation, including reducing impacts along
trails, roadways, in parking lots, and in the entrance plaza by creating established
pedestrian trails and reducing or eliminating roadside parking.
•
Reduce erosion and sediment runoff from roadside parking areas.
•
Preserve critical habitat for threatened and endangered species.
•
Design potential improvements in a manner that allows for and encourages future
restoration or enhancement projects for park resources in the watershed.
Cultural Resources:
•
Preserve contributing archeological and cultural landscape resources.
Visitor Use and Access:
•
Provide a designated pedestrian corridor from all private vehicle parking areas to the
entry plaza, removing pedestrian traffic on Muir Woods Road.
•
Enhance visitor orientation from parking and shuttle unloading areas to facilitate access
to the plaza area.
•
Improve the entry experience for visitors by reducing crowding and congestion, and
providing high quality services and facilities.
•
Coordinate with visitors, commercial service providers, and local communities to share
information about improvements as they are implemented.
Park Facilities and Infrastructure:
•
Expand and/or upgrade restroom facilities to accommodate the reconfigured arrival
experience and managed visitor demand.
•
Enhance the plaza to better welcome and orient visitors.
•
Incorporate energy conservation measures.
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Muir Woods Parking Reservation and Shuttle System
Project Description
The NPS is proposing to create a parking reservation system that would support management
of visitation to levels that meet park goals for safety, natural resource preservation, visitor
experience, and public access. The reservation system is intended to be a long-term measure
that will allow the park to work with visitors in advance of their arrival so that congestion, and its
related impacts, can be minimized and the quality of the experience enhanced . NPS anticipates
that the system would operate year-round and reservations would be made through a website, a
call center, on site for less busy days, and possibly at other locations. Implementation of the
reservation system would use existing park and county infrastructure; no new construction is
being proposed.
In addition, parking management at the monument and shuttle services in the surrounding
Redwood Creek Watershed would be enhanced. A new park shuttle would operate between
Panoramic Highway (near the Dias Ridge trailhead) and the shuttle drop-off area at Muir Woods
to better manage and distribute parking and transportation services in the area; supplementing
the existing seasonal shuttle that runs out of Pohono Drive. In addition, the existing use of the
Muir Woods Road shoulder for parklnq would be reduced and managed. Some of the existing
informal parking along Panoramic Highway between the intersections of SR1 and Muir Woods
Raod would be managed to allow the concessioner to effectively and safely manage the
reservation and shuttle system.
NPS anticipates the following actions in order to implement this system:
•
Installation of signs on highway and road approaches (US 101, SR 1, Panoramic
Highway, Muir Woods Road),
•
Routine maintenance of road shoulders where used for parking (Panoramic Highway
and Muir Woods Road) , and
•
Installation of rustic fencing, bollards, and other ancillary features.
The combination of these actions is expected to markedly reduce congestion, improve safety
and the visitor experience, reduce vehicle-related noise in the entrance area, and reduce
impacts to soils and vegetation that could improve water quality and habitat for sensitive
species.
The reservation and shuttle system would be funded through a new parking service charge,
which would be tied to the cost of providing these services, and has been estimated to be about
$10-12 per vehicle. Operation of a reservation system by a private concessioner could begin as
early as 2015 .
Public Scoping Period
NPS would like to hear your thoughts about this proposal. You are invited to submit comments
beginning September 4 through October 4, 2013 online at
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http://parkplanning.nps.gov/muwo-parking; in person at the public scoping meeting to be held
on September 18, 2013 at Tam Valley Elementary School from 6:30-8:30PM; or in writing to
GGNRA, Attn: Muir Woods Transportation Projects, Fort Mason, Building 201, San Francisco,
CA94123.
Next Steps
Once the scoping period concludes the NPS will evaluate all of the comments received,
incorporate them into the planning process, and decide what level of NEPA compliance will be
completed (at this time it is anticipated to be either a Categorical Exclusion or an Environmental
Assessment). The NPS will present a summary of scoping comments and a draft decision on
NEPA compliance at a public meeting to be held on November 20,2013 at Tam Valley
Elementary School.
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Muir Woods Transportation and Access Site Improvements
Project Description
The purpose of this action is to better manage visitor demand and congestion at Muir Woods in
order to improve the visitor experience and safety, improve existing facilities, and reduce ongoing impacts to natural and cultural resources from the existing transportation system. The
project is needed to address serious problems with traffic, safety, park resources, and visitor
experience caused by growing visitor demand . The resulting conditions do not meet park goals
outlined in the GMP and Watershed Management Plan for much of the year .
Traffic and safety problems include a congested entry experience on upper and lower Muir
Woods Road and in the monument's tight parking lots where cars, buses, bicyclist, and
pedestrians mix. This congestion contributes to back-ups on the surrounding roadway network
in various areas, such Shoreline Highway at Tamalpais Junction.
Unregulated shoulder parking, traffic congestion, and lack of designated pedestrian pathways
are causing degradation of the natural resources and habitat in the Redwood Creek watershed.
This watershed is home to several threatened and endangered species, among them Coho
salmon, steelhead trout, and northern spotted owl.
The experience of most visitors to Muir Woods is diminished by traffic conditions, unmanaged
parking at the Woods, gaps in the surrounding trail system which do not connect parking to the
entry plaza, and aging and inadequate facilities in the entrance area.
The existing entrance area includes aging, incomplete and undersized infrastructure. Heavily
used trails are rutted , with uneven surfaces, failed embankments and culverts. Many do not
meet accessibility guidelines. The restrooms are undersized for most days. Parking lots are
narrow and crowded; most lack pedestrian paths . Aspirations for a more functional, natural and
attractive entrance plaza have not been realized.
Possible actions could include the following :
•
A new parking lot on Panoramic Highway that would be served by the park shuttle
•
Minor expansion and/or reorganization of existing parking lots at Muir Woods to improve
vehicle and pedestrian circulation
•
Conversion of existing operational areas at Muir Woods for parking and other uses
•
Extension of the Redwood Creek Trail from Deer Park Fire Road to the monument
entrance, including boardwalk sections
•
Completion of plaza improvements begun in 2010, including additional re-vegetation and
a new restroom
•
Improved Dipsea Trail route
•
Changes in the management and use of Muir Woods Road
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Implementation of any improvements will be dependent on environmental compliance,
permitting, availability of funds, and would likely be phased over several years.
Public Scoping Period
NPS would like to hear your thoughts about this proposal. You are invited to submit comments
beginning September 4 through October 4, 2013 online at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/muwo_access; in person at the public scoping meeting to be held
on September 18, 2013 at Tam Valley Elementary School from 6:30-8:30PM; or in writing to
GGNRA, Attn : Muir Woods Transportation Projects, Fort Mason, Building 201, San Francisco,
CA 94123.
Next Steps
Once the scoping period concludes, the NPS will evaluate all of the comments received,
incorporate them into the planning process, and decide what level of NEPA compliance will be
completed (at this time it is anticipated to be an Environmental Assessment). The NPS will
present a summary of scoping comments and a range of feasible alternatives that incorporate
scoping comments at a public meeting to be held on November 20, 2013 at Tam Valley
Elementary School.
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