New Grand Canyon Infrastructure to Encourage Car-Free Visits
By Rocky Thompson on September 5th, 2012
Officials at the Grand Canyon have introduced new ways to access the park, and they’re hoping it’ll mean less traffic. Effectively a park-and-ride, the new lot is near the entrance to the park with free seasonal shuttles running in and out. Something tells me a new 100-car lot isn’t going to do much to alleviate the stress of drivers, not to mention those shuttles are a hassle when they mean you have to carry around your beer and bags of granola all day instead of having ready-access in your car trunk. Still it’s a step in the right direction, and the other good news is that part of the expansion also includes a bike rental area in the park where people can gather for bike tours…just don’t try to ride off-road.
Tags: grand canyon, National Parks
This is definitely a step in the right direction. I’ve been there twice, and it could not have been enjoyable to be there with a vehicle having to wait in the traffic on the roads. The shuttle system is in place and works pretty well in a few other NPs, like Glacier, and I think it’ll work pretty well here too. I enjoy driving places and having that freedom of bringing what I want with me, but I really don’t like having to deal with traffic caused by so many other, typically poor quality, drivers on the road.