National Park Service

Scope: Market Analysis, Financial Analysis, Investment Analysis, RFP Development, Offeror/Vendor Selection Panel Support

Services: Day Use, Transportation, Reservation System

Issue: Muir Woods National Monument (“the Park”) needed a strategy to manage transportation and visitor use patterns to ensure protection of natural resources and improve transportation access to the site.

Process/Outcome: Muir Woods had completed a transportation plan but needed to understand how a private sector transportation and parking provider could potentially integrate into a public transportation visitor use management system. The CHMGS team completed market, financial, and investment analysis for multiple visitor management systems. All scenarios were focused on a reservation-based strategy for visitor management. The CHMGS team integrated transportation planning demand data, with operational scenarios evaluating cost structures for private vs. public shuttle service and a parking management system. The scenarios tested included various types of shuttle service (e.g. private vs. public) as well as tiered pricing strategies for different services and visitors (e.g., parking and shuttle, children, and adults).

The analysis assisted the NPS in negotiations with a local municipality’s public shuttle service. Additionally, the analysis identified a viable model for integration of shuttle and parking services for a private concessioner.

The NPS implemented the Muir Woods reservation-based visitor management systems in 2018. The systems provide for successful management of visitors as well as improved traffic management.