Voice Opinion On Yosemite Welcome Center

Courtesy: Yosemite National Park

Yosemite, CA — Yosemite National Park has released the Replace Big Oak Flat Welcome Center Complex Environmental Assessment (EA) – and now wants to hear from the public.

Feedback can be submitted until December 20th regarding the project. Park officials note that the assessment is aimed at improving the visitor experience and safety while addressing deferred maintenance along with increasing the centers operational efficiency. A meeting that was scheduled for today was cancelled due to the National Day of Mourning for President George H.W. Bush. The public can still learn more about the project and environmental analysis during a webinar to be held on December 12th from noon to 1 p.m.  (To access the link or submit and online comment, click here.)

The Park provided its preferred alternative below:

• Construct a new welcome center to unify visitor services to replace the modular building and trailer that currently house these functions
• Construct a new adequately sized comfort station to replace the aging, undersized one
• Construct a plaza to connect the new welcome center and comfort station buildings, and house visitor orientation information
• Reconfigure the existing parking lot to decrease vehicle-pedestrian conflicts and reduce congestion
• Construct a small, unpaved staff parking area along Tuolumne Grove Road to reduce congestion
• Install a sewer to connect the welcome center complex to the Hodgdon community septic system and decommission the aging septic system currently serving the facilities
• Provide the option for the addition of a water tank and access road at a later date