Photo copyright 2006 Jonathan Upchurch

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME:

IMPLEMENTING PARKING IMPROVEMENTS AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

JONATHAN UPCHURCH

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING CONSULTANT

PRESENTED TO

ITE WESTERN DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING

JUNE, 2012

“If you build it,

he will come”

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME:

IMPLEMENTING PARKING IMPROVEMENTS AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

JONATHAN UPCHURCH

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING CONSULTANT

PRESENTED TO

ITE WESTERN DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING

JUNE, 2012

Crossing Rio Puerco River, New Mexico on way to Grand Canyon - 1903

First Passenger Train – September 17, 1901

First Automobile, Grandview Point, January 12, 1902

1914

4.4 MILLION VISITORS PER YEAR

RANKS SECOND AMONG 58 NATIONAL PARKS

• 90% of visitors travel to the South Rim– 80% arrive through the South Entrance– 14% arrive through East Entrance– 6% arrive by train

• Nearly all go to the Grand Canyon Village

New Mather Point parking area - 1954

In 1955 …

GRAND CANYON SOUTH RIM

MAY 26, 2002

Improper parking along roadsides results in safety risks, resource damage, and poor visitor experience

• Parking demand exceeds supply– Improper parking along roadsides

464 + 110

• Canyon View Information Plaza (CVIP) is underutilized– Less than half of visitors

access CVIP– Visitor frustration– No visitor parking

What are the issues?

What are the Issues?

Crowding; waiting lines; traffic, parking, and Shuttle Bus congestion

Poor visitor experience

FIGURE 5 - NUMBER OF VEHICLES ENTERING GRAND CANYON SOUTH ENTRANCE STATION BY DAY

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

60001/

1

1/15

1/29

2/12

2/26

3/12

3/26 4/

9

4/23 5/

7

5/21 6/

4

6/18 7/

2

7/16

7/30

8/13

8/27

9/10

9/24

10/8

10/2

2

11/5

11/1

9

12/3

12/1

7

12/3

1

DATE

DESIGN DAY

3 NEW PARKING LOTS OPENED FOR THANKSGIVING, 2009

FIGURE 5 - NUMBER OF VEHICLES ENTERING GRAND CANYON SOUTH ENTRANCE STATION BY DAY

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

60001/

1

1/15

1/29

2/12

2/26

3/12

3/26 4/

9

4/23 5/

7

5/21 6/

4

6/18 7/

2

7/16

7/30

8/13

8/27

9/10

9/24

10/8

10/2

2

11/5

11/1

9

12/3

12/1

7

12/3

1

DATE

DESIGN DAY

3 NEW PARKING LOTS OPENED FOR THANKSGIVING, 2009

VISITATION 9 PERCENT BELOW AVERAGE SUMMER DAY

DAY BEFORE EASTER, 2010

DAY BEFORE EASTER, 2010

DAY BEFORE EASTER, 2010

PARKING DURATION

2006 1 HOUR 3 MINUTES

PARKING DURATION

2006 1 HOUR 3 MINUTES

MODEL 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES

PARKING DURATION

2006 1 HOUR 3 MINUTES

MODEL 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES

OBSERVED – 2010 2:15 TO 2:30

PERCENT OF THOSE PARKING WHO RIDE SHUTTLE BUS

MODEL 5 PERCENT

PERCENT OF THOSE PARKING WHO RIDE SHUTTLE BUS

MODEL 5 PERCENT

OBSERVED – 2010 1/4 TO 1/2

VISITOR BEHAVIOR HAS CHANGED

265 MORE PARKING SPACES ADDED

ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAT WILL INCREASE PARKING DURATION

ITE Journal, January, 2011

Photo copyright 2006 Jonathan Upchurch

Historic photos courtesy of the Grand Canyon Museum Collection

Grand Canyon National Park - Annual Parkwide VisitationActual Counts 1980 - 2005 and Visitation Forecast to 2020

1997 4,852 2010

4,562

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Year

An

nu

al V

isit

s (

1,0

00

)

Actual Annual Visitation Forecast Annual Visitation

23% Annual Visitation Growth 2005 - 2020

5.48 million visitors in 2020

4.47 million visitors in 2005

FIGURE 5 - NUMBER OF VEHICLES ENTERING GRAND CANYON SOUTH ENTRANCE STATION BY DAY

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

60001/

1

1/15

1/29

2/12

2/26

3/12

3/26 4/

9

4/23 5/

7

5/21 6/

4

6/18 7/

2

7/16

7/30

8/13

8/27

9/10

9/24

10/8

10/2

2

11/5

11/1

9

12/3

12/1

7

12/3

1

DATE