Lafayette Place Parking and Shuttle

[peakbagger]

Looks like the state is getting more serious about preventing overflow parking along the parkway this year

https://www.concordmonitor.com/hiker-shuttle-franconia-nh-white-mountains-25734811

I haven't been though since the pylons went up but someone who did said they go from Lafayette Place all the way to the Boise Rock pull out.

I wonder if the next step is towathon.

IMHO, they may need to start the shuttles earlier in the AM. I saw some weekend days last year where the parking lots were full up at 8:00 am.

 

[sierra]

I may be dreaming, but I hope it cuts down on the number of hikers assaulting the ridge.

 

[DayTrip]

At least it is getting actively shared on various websites, Facebook groups, etc. I've seen this info in at least 5 different places. Hopefully that will reach enough of an audience to make the situation more manageable. Now we need to see if the 1,000 hiker a day weekends can be effectively handled by the shuttles.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The text I have seen recommends that drivers drop off passengers in order to minimize the number of shuttle riders. Also, at least for now, dogs are welcome on the shuttle.

Tim

 

[ChrisB]

The text I have seen recommends that drivers drop off passengers in order to minimize the number of shuttle riders. Also, at least for now, dogs are welcome on the shuttle.

Tim

And if you think you might be able to sneak your car in somehow...



These folks are serious!

 

[peakbagger]

A friend driving up in the AM yesterday reported that the windy conditions overnight blew many of the cones over into the side of the road.

 

[gram]

And if you look carefully at ChrisB's pic, so many signs, cones, and ropes!

It's a shame the parkway is disfigured.

 

[KV]

Last weekend when I went through the State Police were ticketing speeders that (I presume) had been clocked by aircraft as the SB trooper had 2 people pulled over at the same time.

Today when I went thru I saw the signs, the cones, the ropes. They do not go all the way to the Boise Rock pull-off so I wonder how long before someone parks there. But, my thoughts are that yes, it is a blight on the landscape, but regardless of what one thinks about the state's motivation, supported or not by safety statistics I am hopeful that the least that will come of this is the Franconia Ridge gets a little less wear and tear. I wonder how long those silly cones will be in place - I'm thinking only long enough for drivers/parkers to get the message. The signs are overkill enough.

 

[TCD]

Same thing happening over here in the Adirondacks. It's a blight, for sure.

Last year's "pilot" effort was a dismal failure (I live right here in Keene. I personally observed all this.):
1. Unsightly.
2. Actually did nothing to reduce wear and tear on the trails. The same numbers of people came to the same trails (NY is pushing out tons of tourism promotion for the Adirondacks all over the northeast US).
3. Most importantly, and concerning, because of the ill advised parking changes these same people walked much further along dangerous stretches of 55mph highway to get to their trailheads. So the result was a greatly increased pedestrian traffic hazard. We were just lucky that no one got killed by a car last year. And that's it - just lucky.

Of course locals have written to their representatives begging for the State to reconsider. But this year they are forging ahead mindlessly with more of the same.

All this money would be better spent on maintenance and/or re-routing of heavily used trails, building more parking areas, hiker education, and Forest Ranger enforcement.

The kicker will come when someone gets killed by a car, walking the extra mile on the highway that the State is forcing them to walk, after bringing them here to hike whatever trail with tourist promotion. That will be an interesting case.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Waiting for the "unintended consequences"... where will the spillover flood next?!? Garfield and the Twins seem likely candidates. I don't think most people are fond of waiting for a shuttle these days.

Tim

 

[HockeyPuck]

I drove through on Friday afternoon and the state was placing sand bags on the base of each ’cone’ to keep them stable. I always hit the trails early and am usually halfway up a mountain at 8 am when the shuttle starts running. Personally, I’d like a better solution.

I’m coming from the south and driving North through Franconia Notch. I’d like a way to know if the Lafayette Place (southbound) lot is full as I’m traveling north (so I can stop at Cannon parking). I don’t want to drive through Franconia notch, turn around at 34c, drive south to learn Lafayette Place is full, continue south to turn around at exit (33 or 34a), drive north again checking for a space at the Falling Waters/OBP trailhead and if full, continuing through notch again to 34c. I’m glad I’m only passing through because attempting to stop and park makes no sense.

 

[DayTrip]

I did Adams Sunday and heading home through the notch around 5 PM it didn't look like all that many cars were parked in the Cannon lot. It didn't seem that busy anywhere actually. Was anyone here on the Franconia loop? I got to Appalchia just after 7AM and there were many spaces in the lot with only about 6 cars on the road. When I left around 4PM there were still many spots and only a handful of cars on road. I went to Gorham to get some fast food and it was not all that busy for that time on a holiday Sunday. Could the surge in hiker volume finally be peaking? Most of the people I met on the trails were newbies and trail runner types and there weren't all that many. Was pretty surprised at the lack of volume for the holiday with good weather for the most part.

 

[egilbe]

I think the message got out about the waist deep snow holding over in the higher peaks. How many rescues have there been this Spring already because of Winter conditions? 7?

 

[jniehof]

I drove through on Friday afternoon and the state was placing sand bags on the base of each ’cone’ to keep them stable.

This is starting to defeat the purpose of having a shoulder. That's an awful lot of crap to drive through if you get a flat and need to pull over.

 

[Grey J]

While safety is certainly the #1 priority, this system of posts and ropes and now sandbags is going to seriously impact the aesthetics of the very scenic view one gets driving through the notch.

 

[sierra]

While safety is certainly the #1 priority, this system of posts and ropes and now sandbags is going to seriously impact the aesthetics of the very scenic view one gets driving through the notch.

As opposed to a thousand cars lining the highway? Those aesthetics? I don't care what they do, so long as they do something. Not many things bother me, but the assault on that ridge has been one of them. One of the things Social Media has produced is hikers with no idea how they impact the wilderness. To pull up to a trailhead and see that many cars and STILL think its a good idea to do the hike, is just pathetic. Trash, dog ****, unleashed dogs running amuck, people trampling tundra at will. I never thought Id say this, but they should permit that ridge. First come first serve, then send the rest on their merry way. Let them go to the Twins, hopefully a good runoff will carry a bunch away at the third crossing. Yes, I'm bitter.

 

[Grey J]

Two things can be true at the same time. Cars lining the roadside in the notch is definitely not a pretty sight, but this solution is also undeniably ugly. The parking problem seems to be limited to weekends but if I understand it correctly, this jerry-rigged rope system will remain in place all the time. Is the cure worse than the disease? I agree with your general premise that the area is being overused and loved to death. I will do my part and hike less traveled trails on my visit.

 

[kltilton]

I’m guessing these barriers are temporary, until the word gets out that no parking is allowed.

 

[rocket21]

I don't think this is an optimal solution.

I think the existing parking lot should be expanded (there is room on the northbound side), in conjunction with rebuilding the Old Bridle Path/upper Greenleaf/Falling Waters trails. Even if traffic is reduced, the trails are still in very bad shape due to unmitigated erosion, and need to be stabilized.

I also think there should be consideration for opening the the old Old Man viewing lot to parking (last I knew, it's short term parking) and the original Greenleaf access restored. This would take a little stress off Lafayette Place.

I also think the Mittersill-Cannon hiking trail should be formally reopened. This would take some stress off Hi-Cannon and Kinsman Ridge.

These options would disperse crowds while still embracing Franconia Notch as a destination. Right now, we're putting on a horrible appearance for the visitors we spend so much money marketing to.

 

[DayTrip]

I’m guessing these barriers are temporary, until the word gets out that no parking is allowed.

I would wager that the second the barriers come down you'll see cars there. When they first started with signs and ticketing you still had cars lining the road. A lot of these people I'm sure are not regular hikers and don't "get the word". They just read about the loop, drive up and have no idea about the parking situation. As soon as one car parks down the ramp to the lot and just barely gets to the road another car will park behind it, and so on, and so on......The only way to permanently address this if they are serious would be to put in permanent guard rails in that area (and by that I mean if they are going to block the road - expanded parking areas off the highway would be the ideal solution). And the unintended consequence of that move would be the issue of break downs as noted previously.