May 30, 2012, Open House and Webinar featuring the Mariposa Grove Restoration Project and South Entrance Station Kiosks Replacement
Join us for our monthly open house on Wednesday May 30, 2012, from 1 to 4 pm in the Valley Visitor Center Auditorium. Presentations will begin at 2 pm. Park Entrance fees are waived for attendees.
The open house will feature an update on the Restoration of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias project. The goal of the project is to restore the ecological health of the Grove and improve the visitor experience at the South Entrance and Grove. Since public scoping closed on February 3, 2012, an interdisciplinary planning team has been developing site design concepts and draft alternatives.
With input from public scoping, and through a series of design workshops, park staff/subject matter experts, and the design team have been working together to formulate basic site design concepts. Project managers provided an update on the status of the project at the April 25 open house. A copy of the April 25 presentation is available at the plan website at https://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mgrove_documents.htm. This month we will review the latest versions of the site design concepts and draft alternatives.
For those unable to attend the open house in person, the presentation will also be available online via a webinar at yose.webex.com.
Yosemite National Park Soliciting Comment on South Entrance Station Kiosks Replacement
The goal of this project is to design and construct safe, secure, accessible, and high performance entrance station kiosks at the South Entrance of the park on Highway 41 (Wawona Road). The safety of park staff at the South Entrance Station is compromised with over 30 vehicle collisions each year. Narrow lanes and the "T" intersection create a difficult turning radius for larger vehicles.
The objectives of the project are to:
1) Address the overall kiosk placement and road layout configuration to reduce congestion, improve safety, and improve visitor service through wayfinding and lighting
2) Replace and update fire and security monitoring, alarm systems, and communication infrastructure
3) Replace or remodel kiosks and office with architecturally appropriate structures using the new Big Oak Flat Entrance Station Kiosk design as the baseline for the architectural design
4) Provide a climate control system and an overall kiosk design that is environmentally safe, comfortable, and energy efficient
Specifically, two of the existing kiosks would be removed and the third historic kiosk would remain in the existing location and used as an office. Three new kiosks would be relocated along the Wawona Road approximately 350-ft. south of the existing kiosks location. It would include an easterly widening of the Wawona Road to accommodate the kiosks relocation.
Public scoping period for this project will open on May 30, 2012 and will extend through June 29, 2012. Park staff will be at the May 30 open house to answer any questions. Again, park admission fees will be waived for those attending the open house.
The public is encouraged to submit comments through the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) system at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/SEntrKiosk. Comments also may be submitted by mail (postmarked no later than June 29, 2012):
Mail: Superintendent
Attn: South Entrance Station Kiosks Replacement
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
