Reservations for Going-to-the-Sun Road? It could happen

There are about 2,000 parking spaces on Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Anyone who has circled through the full parking lot at Logan Pass knows that's not nearly enough. About 4,700 cars per day travel the road in peak season, and that number is expected to increase.

Glacier National Park saw increases in visitation in 2012, 2013 and again last year when a record 2.3 million people passed through its gates.

That trend of increased visitation is expected to continue, said Mary Riddle, Glacier's chief of planning and environmental compliance.

Glacier will see its 100 millionth visitor sometime this summer.

"Without doing something, we can't accommodate that level of use," Riddle said.

That's why Glacier is in the throes of creating a Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor management plan.

The goal of the plan is to manage increasing visitation in a way that makes sure all those extra people will put as little extra stress on infrastructure and natural resources as possible.

The plan could include some major changes such as requiring reservations to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road or bicycle-only days on the road.

For now, those possible changes are only conceptual, and Glacier officials are seeking the public's thoughts on what a solution could look like.

"There is just so much passion about the Going-to-the-Sun Road," said Denise Germann, spokeswoman for Glacier National Park. "We want to make sure we're engaging the public as much as we can."

Glacier recently released five possible ways under which to manage the road and is currently taking public comment on what it's come up with so far.

"We wanted to allow some early feedback to occur to see if there was anything we were missing," Riddle said.

The preliminary plan looks at ways to decrease traffic on not only the Going-to-the-Sun Road, but also the trails that depart from the corridor.

Some trails have seen a 250 percent increase in use compared to 1988, when the last trail-use study was done.

"That's a huge increase," Germann said.

In that same time frame, visitation to Glacier increased by 16 percent.

All those extra feet on the trails are taking a toll.

"We're seeing quite a bit of erosion on the popular trails, some widening and a number of social trails developing," Riddle said.

Park officials also have concerns about the amount of human waste found near trails and the encounters visitors are having with animals.

"Not all of them are particularly bad, but they keep running into each other," Riddle said of those human-animal interactions.

The possible options of the corridor management plan are still very much conceptual at this point. Details will be fleshed out as the planning process advances.

For example, officials are still considering exactly how a reservation system would work on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Would visitors make a reservation online in advance or be assigned an entry time when they arrive?

"Those are all the kinds of things we're still trying to figure out," Riddle said.

Here's a look at the alternatives, or conceptual plans, the park is considering:

• Preliminary Alternative 1 — No action

This alternative is required by the National Environmental Policy Act. It describes the conditions that would exist in the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor if a plan was not prepared.

Including the no-action alternative serves as a baseline for evaluating the changes and environmental impacts that would or would not occur under the other alternatives.

• Preliminary Alternative 2 — Build additional parking and infrastructure and maintain shuttles to accommodate increased visitation

This alternative focuses on adding parking throughout the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor while also expanding shuttle operations to begin earlier in the spring and to run longer hours throughout the day.

Last summer, the University of Montana conducted visitor surveys at Glacier and found that visitors are most unhappy when they're unable to find parking.

"Where we're not seeing very happy people is those looking for parking spots," Riddle said.

Visitors seems less concerned about congestion on the road or on trails.

This alternative would add parking, particularly in the Avalanche area.

Glacier National Park launched its free Going-to-the-Sun Road shuttle in 2007. The shuttle system goes from Apgar to St. Mary, making numerous stops along the way. Riders can get on and off wherever they like, and no ticket is needed.

Officials hoped the shuttle would help alleviate congestion on the road.

"When we put in the shuttle system, it was hoped it would reduce the traffic problems, but it didn't work out that way," Riddle said. "The shuttles are operating almost to capacity and all the parking lots continue to be congested."

This option also includes adding restroom facilities to popular backcountry locations including Hidden Lake Overlook, Preston Park and Haystack Butte.

Those are common hiker turn-around points and also seem to be popular spots for hikers to make a pit stop in the bushes before heading back, Riddle said.

This alternative also calls for hardening, or paving, popular trails to limit natural resource damage from increased use on trails. Adding more trails is also an option.

• Preliminary Alternative 3 – Increase shuttles and manage the number of vehicles in the corridor

This alternative focuses on managing the number of vehicles coming into the park.

That could be done through timed entries or a reservation system, Riddle said. The details of this will be worked out further into the planning process.

"We know it would probably require some changes in the entrance station," Riddle said. "We're still trying to figure out reservations vs. a timed entry kind of thing."

Parking times would also be limited in some areas and overnight parking would be prohibited in certain locations.

This plan also calls for increasing the hours and dates of operation for the shuttle.

Alternative 3 also looks at expanding bicycle opportunities by having bike-only days on the Going-to-the-Sun Road or developing more bike trails through the corridor.

Like alternative 2, alternative 3 calls for paving some popular trails and adding restrooms to some turn-around spots.

• Preliminary Alternative 4 – Discontinue shuttles and manage the number of vehicles in the corridor

Like alternative 3, this plan would require reservations to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road or a timed entry system. However, it would also mange the number of people in the corridor by eliminating the shuttle system.

A recent financial analysis concluded that the portion of entrance fees that supports the shuttle system only covers the cost of operation and maintenance, and does not support the acquisition of new buses.

The shuttle system was initially implemented in response to the rehabilitation work on the Going-to-the-Sun Road and the delays it would cause, Germann said.

"At the time, it was not a long-term plan," she said.

Like alternative 3, alternative 4 would also look at increasing bicycle opportunities.

• Preliminary Alternative 5 – Adaptive response to alternative futures

The last preliminary alternative uses an approach called scenario planning, which is a new and still little-used method in federal planning, Riddle said.

Rather than assuming one fixed, or static future (as in Preliminary Alternatives 2, 3 and 4), this alternative allows park managers to adaptively respond to changing conditions.

"How does the park respond to uncertainty?" Riddle said. "How do we position ourself in such a way that we can be responsive to changes that are occurring and changes that are beyond our control?"

Under this alternative, triggers would be established. Those triggers could include visitation levels, shifts in the peak visitation season, trail-use levels, wildlife behavior or even change in daily peak visitation times.

When a trigger is met, a portion of the plan would be implemented.

For example, when trail use reaches a certain level, trails would be paved. Or if shuttle use continues to increase, additional shuttle loops could be added.

"We know that change is going to happen," Germann said.

However, exactly what those changes will be is impossible to predict.

With Uber and Lyft rideshare programs catching on in urban areas, could they also show up in Glacier?

"What would they mean if the were to come into the area?" Riddle said.

How should Glacier handle driverless cars if they were to become common place?

Alternative 5 is very flexible in responding to new technology.

"Alternative 5 gives us the tools to be responsive to changes," Riddle said.

Glacier is currently accepting public comments on these five preliminary alternatives.

Over the next several months, the park will further develop the alternatives and analyze public comment. A draft plan is expected to be released for public comment this fall.

Federal agencies typically solicit public comment when they release a draft plan, which includes a preferred alternative, along with other alternative plans. Glacier will go through that process with the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor plan this fall, but is also seeking public comment now before an official draft plan is released.

"We're really looking to make sure that we haven't missed anything," Riddle said.

A final plan will likely be adopted in 2017.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Erin Madison is the outdoors writer at the Great Falls Tribune. She can be reached at 406-791-1466 or emadison@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_EMadison.

Glacier National Park visitation by year

1911: 4,000

1915: 14,265

1920: 22,449

1925: 40,063

1930: 73,776

1935: 143,240

1940: 177,307

1945: 67,942

1950: 482,298

1955: 674,100

1960: 724,500

1965: 847,100

1970: 1,241,600

1975: 1,570,000

1980: 1,474,578

1985: 1,603,011

1990: 1,986,737

1995: 1,839,518

2000: 1,728,693

2005: 1,925,101

2010: 2,200,048

2011: 1,853,564

2012: 2,162,035

2013: 2,190,374

2014: 2,338,528

Total 99,716,822

How to comment

Public comments on the preliminary alternatives can be submitted at parkplanning.nps.gov/glac.

Comments are due by Friday, June 5.

Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor management plan timeline

1932: Going-to-the-Sun Road opens

2007: Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation begins; free shuttle system implemented

2013: Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor management planning process begins with public meetings and public comment

2014: Visitor survey conducted by the University of Montana; decibel levels monitored on Going-to-the-Sun Road

Spring 2015: Preliminary alternatives released for public comment. Comments due June 5

Fall 2015: Draft plan and environmental impact statement will released for public comment

2017: Final plan will be adopted