Park seeks comment on parking plan

Glacier National Park has released an environmental assessment on a proposed project to expand the parking lot at the Transit Center near Apgar.

The Park’s eventual plans are to move the Visitor Center in Apgar Village to the Transit Center at the T-junction north of the west side entrance. Park officials want to expand the existing parking lot to the north and east by 90 feet each way. The expansion would accommodate 60 more cars and six more RV spaces.

In total, the expanded parking lot would have 190 to 195 parking spaces and 21 RV spaces. The cost of the expansion is estimated at $500,000 and would be paid for through federal highway lands program.

Work would begin in the fall and likely continue next spring with night work. The Transit Center lot would not be lit to preserve dark night skies.

The EA also calls for an eventual expansion of the transit center as it’s converted into a visitor center.

About 1.2 acres of land will be disturbed by the project. The expansion is not expected to have any long-term impacts on grizzly bears and other endangered species, but a unique plant — the velvet-leafed huckleberry — grows in the area. Any of the plants found in the construction zone will be moved and transplanted before construction begins.

The Park also plans to expand parking in Apgar Village and near the shore of Lake McDonald. That work is not included in the Transit Center EA as it was part of the Park’s Commercial Services Plan.

The proposed project is part of a busy construction schedule in the Park. More work is planned this year on the Going-to-the-Sun Road and other park infrastructure.

The Sun Road will see work this year between Avalanche Creek and Logan Creek and between Big Bend and Haystack Creek. In addition, the Kelly Camp Road bridge over McDonald Creek will see some reconstruction work, and the concrete bridge over Lower McDonald Creek could be replaced this fall or next year, depending on funding.

To comment on the parking lot expansion and read the document, visit online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ApgarTransitParking.