All along this trip I have been remarking at the changes in the parks and areas around the parks. I have been wondering what happens next in terms of the conflicting mandates of conservation, tourism, wildlife protection, preservation for the next generations and human access. Everything is not like the Ken Burns documentary, there are forces beyond the "greatest idea", mostly economic, pushing and shaping what comes next.
Perhaps the mountain town of Estes Park and its park "partner" Rocky Mountain National Park are an example of where lots of other parks/pretty places paired with tourism centered towns are headed. Like North Conway and the White Mountains, Banff/Canmore and Banff National Park, Jackson Hole and the Tetons, people gather here to enjoy the amenities of a tourism town, with the ability to visit nature.
Estes Park is small but growing. We visited just a few short years ago, and you can already see the growth in building of condos and town houses, and commercial building centered on tourism. I think the best example is the development of their free shuttle bus system. There are loops to all parts of town that connect at the visitors center, and a connection into the park to a place called Park and Ride. At Park and Ride you can transfer to a National Park Service bus, and take a ride to trailheads, where then you can get out and hike. You can still drive into the park, but every parking lot we saw was packed and there were Rangers doing parking and traffic duty in some lots.
Is this the future? Is it a good long term strategy to leave the cars behind and just do buses? One of the bus drivers remarked that even with the bus system in place there were times this summer when the Park/Town roads went into gridlock and the shuttles were locked in traffic. They estimate that ridership on the shuttle system was up 30% this year and that 30% more figure we heard in other parks about overall usage this summer. Can we move from a drive your Winnebago into the park to leave it in this nice place outside the park and we will drive you in with environmentally friendly electric hybrid buses?
In any case Estes Park is crowded with people and too small for the level of traffic that comes here. They do make their money off of tourism, so it is a self perpetuating cycle. You want better business, you need more people and cars, which lock up the roads, and make it a less valued experience. There are political signs opposing something called the "loop" road, so it looks like there is some effort to solve the problem by building a bypass of some kind. Ultimately, long term comprehensive planning could provide ways out, concentrating on non-motorized transport (yup, tough to do when most of the visitors are gray haired and don't operate well at 9000 feet), but it is much harder to do when the crisis is on you rather than looking down the road 25-50 year sand saying if we act NOW this is the out come we will get. Long term planning takes political courage and dollars, both of which are in short supply until the crisis is upon you.
Perhaps the mountain town of Estes Park and its park "partner" Rocky Mountain National Park are an example of where lots of other parks/pretty places paired with tourism centered towns are headed. Like North Conway and the White Mountains, Banff/Canmore and Banff National Park, Jackson Hole and the Tetons, people gather here to enjoy the amenities of a tourism town, with the ability to visit nature.
Estes Park is small but growing. We visited just a few short years ago, and you can already see the growth in building of condos and town houses, and commercial building centered on tourism. I think the best example is the development of their free shuttle bus system. There are loops to all parts of town that connect at the visitors center, and a connection into the park to a place called Park and Ride. At Park and Ride you can transfer to a National Park Service bus, and take a ride to trailheads, where then you can get out and hike. You can still drive into the park, but every parking lot we saw was packed and there were Rangers doing parking and traffic duty in some lots.
Is this the future? Is it a good long term strategy to leave the cars behind and just do buses? One of the bus drivers remarked that even with the bus system in place there were times this summer when the Park/Town roads went into gridlock and the shuttles were locked in traffic. They estimate that ridership on the shuttle system was up 30% this year and that 30% more figure we heard in other parks about overall usage this summer. Can we move from a drive your Winnebago into the park to leave it in this nice place outside the park and we will drive you in with environmentally friendly electric hybrid buses?
In any case Estes Park is crowded with people and too small for the level of traffic that comes here. They do make their money off of tourism, so it is a self perpetuating cycle. You want better business, you need more people and cars, which lock up the roads, and make it a less valued experience. There are political signs opposing something called the "loop" road, so it looks like there is some effort to solve the problem by building a bypass of some kind. Ultimately, long term comprehensive planning could provide ways out, concentrating on non-motorized transport (yup, tough to do when most of the visitors are gray haired and don't operate well at 9000 feet), but it is much harder to do when the crisis is on you rather than looking down the road 25-50 year sand saying if we act NOW this is the out come we will get. Long term planning takes political courage and dollars, both of which are in short supply until the crisis is upon you.
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