Inventory and Assessment of National Park Visitor Transportation Systems: Final Report
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1999-08-06
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Abstract:At least 47 National Park Service (NPS) units have public transportation systems. These systems, also known as Visitor Transportation Systems (VTSs), range in size from a small bus or tour boat to larger sized fleets, and include a variety of modes such as vans, buses, watercraft, trains, tramways, and seaplanes. Visitor Transportation Systems are used to help address transportation and resource protection problems that exist in park units. The dilemma that NPS faces is how to accomplish its dual mandate to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources, while at the same time providing for public access and visitor enjoyment. As visitation numbers increase, park units are experiencing problems trying to accommodate privately owned vehicles. The problems include traffic congestion, resource degradation, and frustrations expressed by visitors trying to find a parking place or view a resource. Thus, VTSs are being expanded and new VTSs are being implemented to provide access to the park units and to minimize the problems associated with privately owned vehicles. With the increasing use of VTSs, there is the need to develop a comprehensive database on the extent of current VTS operations. This information is necessary in order to provide better information for management of VTSs (budgeting, operational logistics, and maintenance procedures). The database will serve to highlight effective systems, and suggest solutions for system problems; it will also provide benchmarks against which individual systems can be evaluated. Thus far, sixty VTSs have been surveyed. This report examines the objectives of the study, the methodology used, the summary results of the survey and recommendations. 63 Tables. 47p.
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