Yosemite National Park initiates one transportation project and concludes two others that will improve parking, road conditions, and traffic flow in the park. The projects will provide additional parking in Yosemite Valley, improve restrooms and reorganize the Tuolumne Grove parking area, and repair and maintain portions of the Tioga Road. The projects are slated to be completed by Memorial Day, 2015.

Improvements to the parking area at Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias began in September 2014. Currently, the grove, trail, and parking lot are open to the public. The project entails improvements to the restrooms, new interpretive signs, a designated bus drop-off location, an improved picnic area, and better organized parking.

In June of 2014, the park began a multi-phased maintenance project to repair the Tioga Road corridor, the park’s east-to-west highway that connects Groveland and Lee Vining. The primary rehabilitation work involved a 15 mile segment from the Crane Flat intersection to just east of the White Wolf Campground. The construction work includes improvements to culverts, grading, pavement resurfacing, new signage, and road striping.

This month, the park will begin the first phase of improvements to the Yosemite Lodge parking area in Yosemite Valley. The completed project will include an expanded parking area just west of Yosemite Lodge. The additional spaces will help to improve traffic flow in Yosemite Valley by parking vehicles west of Lower Yosemite Falls. A future phase will include the installation of permanent bathroom facilities.

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eeek

This month, the park will begin the first phase of improvements to the Yosemite Lodge parking area in Yosemite Valley. The completed project will include an expanded parking area just west of Yosemite Lodge. The additional spaces will help to improve traffic flow in Yosemite Valley by parking vehicles west of Lower Yosemite Falls. A future phase will include the installation of permanent bathroom facilities.

Is there a map of the location of this new parking lot?

Will they be converting this "informal" parking area west of Yosemite Lodge to a paved parking lot:

This is from a recent Yosemite Daily Report:

West Yosemite Lodge Parking Aims to Open by Memorial Day
Starting the week of March 16, 2015, park crews will begin construction of a 300-car parking area west of Yosemite Lodge. This site currently accommodates transit bus and oversized RV parking. The West Yosemite Lodge parking project will provide additional day-use parking and help alleviate traffic congestion and crowding in Yosemite Valley as described in the Merced River Plan. The parking area design retains vegetated islands between rows of gravel parking spaces. This spring, park crews will import crushed aggregate base rock and facilitate opening the parking area prior to Memorial Day weekend. In 2016/2017, a contractor will install wheel stops and split rail fencing, coat the primary access driveways and outermost circulation loop with asphalt, build hardened pedestrian pathways, and construct a comfort station and bus stop. Temporary portable toilets will be available during the first phase of construction. There are no roadway delays anticipated. Please contact Michael Pieper (209-200-1131) or Jim Donovan (209-379-1450) with questions or concerns. (L. Acree)

If you go to http://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/management/mrp.htm You can find more details about the parking lot and there is a map. Right off hand, I can't remember what section or page it is on. It looks like your picture is that area but I can't tell for sure. If you follow the bike path behind the lodge to the west when you go past the old employees rec center you see in front of you there currently is a small parking lot and that is the area of the new parking.

They should have thought about this before converting the old parking lot to employee housing after the flood.

I really can't fault them on this logic since after the 1997 flood the number of guest rooms at the lodge were basically cut in half. No more cabins with (or without) bath, and the removal of two of the "standard room" buildings that were in the 100-year flood plain. Hence, the extra parking wasn't considered needed at that time (1997).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2015 11:17PM by plawrence.

But in the process they restricted parking at the lodge and later removed parking at Lower Yosemite Falls. This contributed to the traffic problems in the Valley.

I agree it was silly to remove the parking lot for Lower Yosemite Falls. At the very least they should have left behind a small parking lot for those with Handicap Parking placards. The closest handicap parking to Lower Yosemite Falls is so far away now. And had I thought when they were redeveloping the area, that they at least would have converted the old Lower Yosemite Falls parking lot to a picnic area with benches where people could take a break and enjoy the scenery. But no, not even that.

In regards to restricted parking at the Lodge, that's only enforced overnight. They don't want people sleeping in their vehicles at the Lodge (or illegally in the nearby woods). During the day, there's no enforcement since the Lodge is open to all park visitors because of its restaurants, bike rental shop, swimming pool (in season) and gift shop. Anyone who finds a parking space can park in the Lodge's parking lot.

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plawrence
They don't want people sleeping in their vehicles at the Lodge

That's not why. Putting employee housing on the old parking lot there just isn't enough for guests if parking isn't restricted.

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eeek

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plawrence
They don't want people sleeping in their vehicles at the Lodge

That's not why. Putting employee housing on the old parking lot there just isn't enough for guests if parking isn't restricted.

The problem with your statement is that parking at the Lodge is NOT restricted during the day (and evening). Anyone can park there and everyone does. Don't need to be an overnight guest of the Lodge to do so. There are absolutely no signs posted around the parking lot informing non-lodging guests that they are prohibited from parking in the Lodge's parking lot. I've never seen any vehicle without a Lodge guest parking permit ever ticketed or towed for parking there during the day.

And the same holds true for the Curry Village parking lot and the Ahwahnee hotel parking lot. The parking permits that one receives when checking-in at the Lodge, the Ahwahnee and at Curry Village is to help regulate overnight parking. There's zero enforcement of non-guests parking in these parking lots during the day.

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I have to agree with eeek. After the flood and before the removal of the Yosemite Falls parking, when we stayed at the Lodge sometimes when we went to T Meadows or other places in the park where we needed our car, if we came back to our room before 5 pm we could not find a parking spot. It really got dicey after they removed the falls parking. Several times after we checked in and unloaded the car we ended up going to day use or Curry to park and then moved the car to the lodge at night. One time my husband dropped us off at the lodge and he ended up parking at El Cap Meadow and later rode his bike to get the car.

You are right, they should have had some handicapped parking at the falls since now people have to used the limited numbers of ones that are at the lodge. As for the picnic/sitting area they made, what a joke. There are not enough benches near the start of the walkway to the falls and who wants to have a picnic right near the restrooms. If they didn't want the picnic area where the parking was then at least they could have put the tables where the old restrooms were.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2015 01:21PM by parklover.