Dear John, Publisher,
The solution lies in our National Park. When thousands of cars get turned away, they end up “crowding” other areas on the Peninsula.
The Park’s mandate according to its website is to “protect and present” the land it manages. So in order to “present” it has to allow sufficient public access. We don’t want to lose our natural environment, but there is a way to balance nature’s delicate needs with such access.
Big parks like Yellowstone handle millions and millions of people by funneling them through designated areas (parking, trails, lookouts, picnic areas) that compose only a small fraction of the land, while the rest of the park is left undisturbed.
Our park can do the same. For instance, 30 acres in parking lots can handle 4,000 cars at 325 sq ft stall size, a relatively small fraction (0.08%) of the 38,500 acres BPNP area (according to Wiki). Main trails widened by one meter can accommodate literally thousands more pedestrians. Grotto crowding can be managed by large safe viewing platforms, just like at the Grand Canyon. Picnic areas close to new parking, some new trails and washrooms would cover a lot of visitors’ needs.
The park would not have to turn thousands of people away every summer, and it would help alleviate pressure from crowding in other areas.
Respectfully,
John Young
Miller Lake
