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SPRINGDALE, Washington County — Zion National Park officials are weighing big changes to traffic flow at its south entrance as park visitation remains about as high as it has ever been.
Park officials unveiled the proposed project earlier this month. It's the second phase of improvements after improving the entrance station, said Jeff Bradybaugh, superintendent of Zion National Park, in a public meeting about it on Tuesday.
"The current road configuration past the entrance station results in traffic congestion, user group conflicts and shuttle system delays in this area," he said, explaining why the park is exploring changes. "The limitations of existing infrastructure in this area result in confusion and potentially unsafe conditions for visitors and employees."
The park's preferred alternative consists of a new Zion-Mount Carmel Highway road configuration from the South entrance to the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, using roundabouts to "facilitate" traffic flow to the visitor center parking lot, large vehicle parking lot and Watchman Campground.
The plan would also call for road connection to the shuttle bus parking lot and road connection to the visitor center shuttle stop area, while trails would be rerouted so pedestrians and cyclists can have a "smoother flow" through the park entrance. There would also be a new vehicle and pedestrian bridge.
Infrastructure would also be modernized so it complies with the Architectural Barriers Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Overall, the purpose of the proposed (project) is to improve circulation and safety for vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic," said Erin Dempsey, the resource management and research division lead for Zion National Park.
She added that the environmental assessment and floodplain statement of findings are being prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
It's unclear when the project may begin, but the proposal is up for public comment through April 10.
Zion broke its visitation record in 2021, drawing in 5 million for the first time. It hasn't reached 5 million visitors since, but its 4.6 million visitors last year is still higher than anything before the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, visitation has grown more year-round and not just during the summer months.
"We feel the project is needed because the existing road infrastructure and alignments were not constructed to accommodate current levels of visitation," Dempsey said.
The south entrance is one of the ways park officials are now looking at handling Zion's popularity, as it remains one of the nation's highest-visited national parks. There are also plans to build out the park's east entrance to spread out visitation throughout the park, so the south entrance isn't as cluttered.
