A new plan designed to relieve traffic congestion and improve safety at the historic North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park has been released for public review.

The preferred alternative in the North Entrance/Park Street Environmental Assessment (EA) would phase in a series of changes. A new entrance station complex would be built to speed up visitor entry to the park. Visitors would have the option of entering Yellowstone through the historic Roosevelt Arch, or traveling over a new access road to bypass congestion in the area. Expanded parking, new pedestrian walkways, and improved traffic circulation would make it easier for visitors to access businesses along Park Street. The administrative road in front of the Gardiner Transportation Center would be moved to separate traffic from delivery vehicles and employee parking.

The EA contains several illustrations which readers will find helpful in understanding the potential impacts of the three alternatives which were evaluated.

The park will hold an open house on the EA on August 1, 2011, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Yellowstone Association Headquarters, 308 Park Street, in Gardiner, Montana.

The EA and an electronic form to submit comments on the internet can be found online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/yell. A hard copy or CD can also be requested by calling (307) 344-2661, or by writing to the North Entrance/Park Street EA, National Park Service, P. O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190.

Written comments may be submitted through the website, in person or by mail, and must be received or postmarked by midnight, August 13, 2011. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail, and submitted responses may be made publicly available at any time.

Once comments are analyzed, the National Park Service will make a decision on a preferred alternative and the final plan. The Regional Director of the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service will sign a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) containing details of the decision.