Impacts of Transit in National Parks and Gateway Communities

Abstract

The U.S. National Park Service has worked to reduce traffic congestion in parks through a transit service. Consistently, communities around parks that are planning for transit want to know what effects they will experience from introductions or changes in service. This research developed a comprehensive understanding of the encountered effects. Seven case study investigations revealed no clear patterns in visitation changes at parks with recent transit initiatives. Circulation and economic impacts depended on local situations and followed from transit planning decisions. The case study findings provide models that can inform planning for continued expansion of transit on public lands.

Community Engagement: An Appreciative Inquiry Case Study with Theodore Roosevelt National Park Gateway Communities

“…However, tourism can also have negative impacts on quality of life for gateway communities. For example, as over-visitation continues to be a significant issue facing national parks [32], nearby communities face challenges with increased traffic, crowding, and infrastructure stress [16,18,33,34]. Additionally, even though many rural areas in the American West derive more positive economic gain from tourism than extractive industries [35], contentions exist regarding the provision of lands for recreation, with opponents arguing that PPAs limit natural resources that could be used for industry and to generate jobs.…”

“…Even when these barriers can be overcome, determining which public engagement strategies to pursue can be challenging. For example, evidence suggests that policy and engagement strategies that work well in one community may not work well in another [15][16][17][18].Due to the importance of and challenges associated with effective public participation relative to PPAs management, identifying and assessing the use of alternative public engagement processes with application to a diversity of communities is warranted. In 2017, Theodore Roosevelt National Park initiated a strategic planning process, which included research to understand how visitors use the park and perceptions of residents within three gateway communities surrounding the park.…”

“…Even when these barriers can be overcome, determining which public engagement strategies to pursue can be challenging. For example, evidence suggests that policy and engagement strategies that work well in one community may not work well in another [15][16][17][18].…”

Análisis de la accesibilidad en transporte público al Parque Nacional de Garajonay (Isla de la Gomera): propuesta para su corrección

“…Por ello mismo, cada vez cobran mayor interés los problemas de la movilidad en estos territorios, en tanto que son causantes de los principales impactos que allí se detectan (Burson, 2000;Turnbull, 2003;Dunning, 2005;Louter, 2006;White, 2007).…”

“…Igualmente, la implementación de sistemas de transporte públicos para aplacar los problemas del transporte privado derivados de la congestión en espacios no urbanos, la mejora de la seguridad de los visitantes y la mejora de la percepción de estos espacios, ha sido un tema recurrente en multitud de trabajos (Turnbull, 2003;Dunning, 2005;Hedberg, 2011;Devkota, 2012), derivando en aportaciones que tienden a paliar estos impactos a través de tecnologías o transportes alternativos más sostenibles y con distinto éxito (Eaton, 1996;Daigle, 2004;White, 2007;Velaga, 2012); o también considerando el transporte público como disuasorio del privado y, por ende, como demandante de menos territorio debido a la construcción de nuevas carreteras (Retzlaff, 2000;Turnbull, 2003;Shiftan, 2006).…”