Bandelier NP News:
The National Park Service has initiated the process to complete a Transportation Plan/Environmental Assessment to improve transportation conditions at Bandelier National Monument.
Over three decades, a number of studies and workshops have documented transportation and congestion management challenges at Bandelier National Monument, including traffic congestion at the park entrance and a lack of adequate parking in Frijoles Canyon.
Recent fires and flooding have reduced available parking in Frijoles Canyon, creating more challenges to transportation at the park.
To offset reduced parking in Frijoles Canyon, the park has partnered with Los Alamos County and Atomic City Transit to provide emergency shuttle service from the White Rock Visitor Center to Frijoles Canyon.
However, the shuttle service is temporary and long-term strategies to address the park’s transportation issues have not yet been developed or implemented.
The National Park Service is preparing the transportation plan and environmental assessment (plan/EA) to analyze the environmental effects of a range of alternatives designed to address the existing transportation issues at Bandelier National Monument.
The NPS is currently in the scoping phase of the project and seeks public input. Comments received during the public scoping comment period will help to define the issues and concerns that the plan/EA will address.
The public will then have a second opportunity to comment on the plan/EA before it is finalized and adopted. The plan/EA is expected to be available for public review in the fall of 2013.
The National Park Service will host two public open house meetings to provide individuals, interested agencies and organizations an opportunity to learn about the plan/EA and to comment early in the planning process.
The first open house is 5-7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24 at the White Rock Town Hall, 139 Longview Dr., and the second open house is noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 at Fuller Lodge, 2132 Central Ave.
Bandelier staff will provide information regarding the current status of this effort, and will be available to answer questions.
The National Park Service also encourages the public to comment electronically via the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/band.
The public may also mail comments:
Park Superintendent
Bandelier National Monument
15 Entrance Road
Los Alamos, N.M. 87544
The National Park Service will accept comments until Oct. 10, 2012. Because the comments are part of a public process, respondents should note that all comments, including personal identifying information, may be publically available.
While respondents may request that information be withheld from public review, the National Park Service cannot ensure individual privacy in the public process.
For more information about Bandelier National Monument, visit the park website, www.nps.gov/band; like BandelierNPS on Facebook; or follow BandelierNPS on Twitter.
For further questions, call the Bandelier Visitor Center at 505-672-3861 x 517.
