Muir Woods Parking Analysis

Last week a friend of mine and I went out to Muir Woods to have a look around and to count the existing parking spaces in both the lots and along the roadway from the bridge to the park's entrance.  A very friendly park employee helped in our efforts in a most surprising fashion.

In the process of doing this, we found a clearing right after the annex parking lot on the left hand side of the road as you go from the park's entrance towards Muir Beach.  In the analysis I did to determine the actual and potential visitation parking possible down in the valley immediately adjacent to the park proper, I refer to this as the Underdeveloped Lot.  My measurements and counts give me reason to think that this clearing could accommodate 52 vehicles on an as needed basis, during peak visitation times.

The bottom line is that there is sufficient parking right now to handle 4,000 visitors per day, if the Marin Transit is allowed to fill the gap in bringing passengers up through Tam Valley to the National Monument.

MUIR WOODS PARKING ANALYSIS:

1.  There are 9 spaces available for 50 passenger tour buses, which can turnover at a rate of 3 times per day, bringing 1,350 visitors per day to the park.
2.  There are 6 spaces available for 12 passenger tourist vans, which can turnover 4 times per day, bringing 288 visitors per day to the park.
3.  There are 13 handicap spaces, 2 electric charging spaces, 27 passenger car spaces in the main lot, 106 passenger car spaces in the adjacent lot, and 34 passenger car spaces along the roadway on the near side of the bridge, a total of 182 spaces for passenger cars, which turnover at a rate of 4 times per day and have an average of 3 passengers per vehicle.  These spaces provide sufficient parking to bring 2,184 visitors per day to the park.
4.  According to the Marin Transit, the current Route 66 and Route 66F service brought to the park an average of 806 visitors per day during the peak Summer months of 2013.
5.  The afore mentioned 52 spaces in the underdeveloped lot could add capacity for another 524 visitors per day to the park. 

Adding all these categories up and you have an existing and potential for 5,252 visitors per day to the park, which is 1,252 visitors in excess of what the Park Service has stated is its goal.

Hike-Ins and Bike-Ins are not included in the above analysis, because their number is unknown to me at this time.

Again, this begs the question, "WHAT GIVES?"

I this settles the issue as to the necessity of continuing the masquerade being put on by the management of the GGNRA that the proposed lot has anything to do with their assertions about a 4,000 limit on daily visitations to the Park.  What are they really up to?