FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
Posts: 1,784 
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Post by FamilySherpa on Apr 7, 2022 4:04:50 GMT -8
www.wbir.com/article/news/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-tn/pay-to-park-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-2023/51-cbd07194-0310-44d1-b40a-9f77b3eed690#:~:text=A%20full%2Dday%20parking%20tag,annual%20tag%20would%20be%20%2440. I've long advocated for even a meager entrance fee. Obviously, the way the park was laid out and dedicated, that was never going to happen. I think this is probably the next best available option. I am a little surprised at the cost of the annual tag, but beggars cant be choosers. Early numbers suggest the Smokies Parking Tag program would operate as a 3-tier system. A full-day parking tag would be $5, a 7-day tag would be $15 and an annual tag would be $40.
With 4,500 parking spaces in the park, the projected revenue gain would be around $10-15 million per year.
The proposed rates and tag duration were determined by comparing rates for similar access on private and public lands, according to a release from the park. The average parking rate in gateway communities that charge parking fees is $15 per day and $68 per month, according to the park. In National Park sites where parking fees are charged, the average rate is $9 per day and $50 per year.
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Scotland, 2022
Posts: 9,612
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Post by zeke on Apr 7, 2022 4:10:43 GMT -8
I can foresee some angry customers confronting parking enforcement employees. Free admission to the park, but if you stop and get out of the car, it costs $5?
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FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
Posts: 1,784
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Post by FamilySherpa on Apr 7, 2022 4:44:12 GMT -8
I can foresee some angry customers confronting parking enforcement employees. Free admission to the park, but if you stop and get out of the car, it costs $5? Oh yeah, the confrontations are going to happen for sure. I like that its a day pass to park anywhere, and not a per parking area fee. The tricky part will be setting up some sort of parking pass kiosk system that doesn't get to crowded or bottleneck an area. We've pretty much stopped going to the park because its so incredibly crowded and the parking situations have caused so much damage that its depressing. Rutted & muddy roadsides. Trash everywhere. Certain gravel roads have become glorified ORV areas full of side by sides ATVs that sling gravel into the streams. |
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Post by starwalker on Apr 7, 2022 20:52:55 GMT -8
I wonder if you have to buy a parking fee if you have a National Parks pass?
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Scotland, 2022
Posts: 9,612
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Post by zeke on Apr 8, 2022 4:29:06 GMT -8
starwalker, I'm guessing a parking pass is still required, mostly in order to get around the No Admission Fee stipulations that park is saddled with.
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Post by Coolkat on Apr 11, 2022 8:45:22 GMT -8
I can't blame them for putting this system in. I've hiked in there a few times and cars lined up down the road was a a big pain. However, I don't see this fixing any problems. It's already so crowded there that even a small reduction in parking won't be noticeable. My suggestion is that they make it super easy to get a parking pass or there will be many confrontations and people refusing the penalties, which I'm assuming will be nothing more than what you'd pay for a parking pass.
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FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
Posts: 1,784
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Post by FamilySherpa on Apr 11, 2022 10:55:02 GMT -8
I can't blame them for putting this system in. I've hiked in there a few times and cars lined up down the road was a a big pain. However, I don't see this fixing any problems. It's already so crowded there that even a small reduction in parking won't be noticeable. My suggestion is that they make it super easy to get a parking pass or there will be many confrontations and people refusing the penalties, which I'm assuming will be nothing more than what you'd pay for a parking pass. Who know what the illegal parking penalties will be. But something had to be done. Hopefully, at a minimum it stops the destructive roadside parking and gets the park a little extra $$ in their operating budget. |
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Post by hikerchick395 on Dec 18, 2022 10:06:59 GMT -8
I have seen photos of GSMNP placing obstructions in some of the roadside parking spots to discourage further damage.
Zion NP had to do this a few years ago...I believe it was after we had visited in 2017. There are only a few weeks that the shuttle isn't mandatory, but people were even parking in roadside meadows.
I wonder what the parking policy for people who have campsites will be? (GSMNP)
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