He said business owners on the highway who normally cater to visitors in their own cars are concerned that use of buses would hurt business. In Olympic National Park, the parking lot at the Hoh River trailhead is apt to fill during summer, leaving cars backed up on the entrance road. However, shuttle service is not in the cards, park spokeswoman Barbara Maynes says. With folks these days tripping over themselves to get away from it all, national parks feel the pressure. At Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, he adds, monuments are being hit and even knocked down by motorists seeking more gawking room.
Traffic affects each park differently.
Vehicle exhaust may have a greater effect inside a canyon than on a mountainside. And in July and August, parking lots fill. The park is also looking at the voluntary use of shuttle buses. In fact, Yosemite is planning on reducing its parking spaces, while increasing the number just outside the park. The intent, park spokesman Scott Gediman says, is to get more motorists into buses.