Transportation Research Board

Supersession 538 / 569

January 13, 2003 Washington, D.C.

# Sustainable Transportation for National Parks and Public Lands 

*A5T55 - Task Force on the Transportation Needs for National Parks and
Public Lands*

Part 1: New Park Transportation Paradigm (Session 538)

Part 2: Getting Solutions on the Ground (Session 569)

Introduction by Moderator - Jeff Olson, R.A., *Trailblazer*

Transportation plays a central role in shaping our public lands. For the
past century, the infrastructure developed for these great places has
focused on motorized transportation. The railroad and the highway have
had a dominant role. Today, park visitation at many destinations has
reached levels that often exceed the capacity of current road and
transit systems. The environment, the visitor experience and the
managers of our public lands are faced with what I have called the Grand
Canyon Paradox: How can we sustain access without building more roads?

The answer, in part comes from Edward Abbey, who said on page 62 of his
1968 book \"Desert Solitaire,\"

\"*There is no compelling reason, for example, why tourists need to
drive their automobiles to the very brink of the Grand Canyon\'s south
rim. They could walk that last mile. Better yet, the Park Service should
build an enormous parking lot about ten miles south of Grand Canyon
Village and another east of Desert View. At those points, as at
Yosemite, our people could emerge from their steaming shells of steel
and glass and climb upon horses or bicycles for the final leg of the
journey. On the rim, as at present, the hotels and restaurants will
remain to serve the physical needs of the park visitors. Trips along the
rim would also be made on foot, on horseback, or ‑ utilizing the paved
road which already exists ‑ on bicycles. For those willing to go all the
way from one parking lot to the other, a distance of some sixty or
seventy miles, we might provide bus service back to their cars, a
service which would at the same time effect a convenient exchange of
bicycles and/or horses between the two terminals*.\"

These words, written decades ago, describe the paradigm shift that is
happening today in a growing number of national parks and public lands.
We are beginning to realize that cars, buses, trains and planes are only
part of the transportation needs of parks and public lands. Greenways,
trails, and facilities for walking and bicycling are becoming part of
the solution. Our National Parks and public lands are, after all, parks
-- places where we go to enjoy the environment. People do not go there
to sit in the car or ride a bus or train. The experience of our parks
and public lands lies outside of our motorized vehicles. These places
should be a model for the way we live and co-exist with the environment.
We must recognize this and provide balanced, integrated systems for all
modes of transportation and recreation. Providing facilities for walking
and bicycling makes it possible for more people to enjoy our parks and
public lands without the cost of new motorized transport systems. This
is the key to creating sustainable solutions to the paradox of increased
visitation and limited resources.

In order to achieve this solution, a major new emphasis must be placed
on facilities for walking, bicycling and trails in our national parks
and public lands. These systems must in turn be fully interconnected
with roads and transit systems, so that all forms of mobility are in
balance. The presentations in this 'supersession' represent the cutting
edge of this trend. Sun Valley, Grand Teton, Acadia, Grand Canyon and
Golden Gate are models for creating new ways for people to walk, bike
and ride. Each place has its own unique assets and challenges. Acadia is
blessed with a carriage road system created a century ago, has received
a \$5 million trail endowment and is using a clean fuel bus fleet. Grant
Teton has a proactive community Pathways program with a vision for a
regional system and momentum sparked by the tragic deaths to two
cyclists on local roads. Grand Canyon's new greenway system was
mobilized through the efforts of a national team of volunteers working
in a unique partnership with park staff and the Grand Canyon Foundation.

I am fortunate to have been involved in moving walking and bicycling to
a higher priority in our national agenda. Over the past decade, I have
worked with several of the projects presented in this session. It is a
great honor and achievement to see the Transportation Research Board
host this critical topic. We cannot simply go from building highways to
providing transit systems for our public lands -- a truly sustainable
system requires complete facilities for every mode of transportation. As
obesity and physical activity become national issues, as air and noise
pollution continue to affect our environment, as traffic congestion
erodes our quality of life, walking and bicycling must become priorities
for a new green infrastructure. We must create a new model of our public
lands so that we are once again creating Parks, not parking lots. Our
efforts are part of a long legacy of volunteers, philanthropists,
leaders and visionaries who make the work of our generation possible.
They deserve our thanks and our gratitude. Our legacy will be to turn
the ideas presented here into reality, and to create a New Park
Transportation Paradigm.

Jeff Olson, R.A.

Trailblazer

10 Clark Street

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 USA

518.584.6634

Trails2k@aol.com