SPRINGDALE, Utah – Zion’s gateway town of Springdale, Utah, is exploring the option of becoming a carless community.
Zion National Park is one of the nation’s most-visited parks, with over 5 million annual visitors in recent years. For a town of 600 permanent residents, the strain of that much visitation is palpable. The huge amount of personal vehicles in Springdale cause traffic and parking congestion, loss of small-town character and decreased safety for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
Tom Dansie, Springdale’s community development director, told St. George News the town was awarded a $60,000 grant from UDOT to hire a consultant and start the project. The town council chose the firm Parametrix, which is tasked with informing the community and visitors on existing options and exploring the feasibility of creating a carless community.
“Maybe there’s some infrastructure that needs to be added, like some enhancements to bus stops or connections or other infrastructure that needs to be made,” Dansie said.
State Route 9 (SR-9) is the only road visitors can take to get to Zion. The highway runs through the park, with Springdale being situated just outside the more popular south entrance. SR-9 also acts as Springdale’s Main Street, where most of their businesses and residences are located.
Current carless options
In November, a new bus route connected St. George with towns along the Zion Corridor to Springdale. The new route costs $5 for each one-way trip, or $100 for an unlimited monthly pass.
Many visitors choose lodging options in populous cities nearby such as St. George, Washington, and Hurricane. The hope is that visitors would use this bus route, or other options in development, to arrive in Springdale.
Once in Springdale, a free town shuttle, funded by Zion National Park, will take visitors to nine locations in town. The route ends at the Zion Canyon Village, which acts as the entrance into the park.
From there, visitors can board the free Zion National Park shuttle. These new electric shuttles will drop visitors off at key locations and trailheads throughout the park. For most of the year, personal vehicles are not allowed to enter Zion Scenic Drive, leaving the shuttle, biking or hiking as the only options to explore the park.
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