Yosemite Officials Trying Out Plan To Keep Traffic Moving

YOSEMITE (KMJ) — A pilot program to cut the number of vehicles lining up to get into Yosemite National Park is about to be put into practice.

National Park officials have been working with both Caltrans and the CHP, in a bid to cut congestion and decrease danger at the Arch Rock Entrance Station off Highway 140.

“There’s a lot of rocks overhead and we don’t want to have vehicles waiting there to get through the entrance station,” explained the park’s Jamie Richards.

“So we’re going to try a new pilot where we pace the number of vehicles that get through so we can keep the traffic moving and vehicles will not stop in that rock fall zone.”

The real-world experiment will take place between April 26th until April 29th, and between May 3rd until May 6th. Drivers entering from Highway 140 will be lined up around five miles east of the Ferguson Slide Bridges in El Portal. From there, vehicles will then be sent to the entrance station.

“We’re optimistic that it’s going to keep the flow moving,” added Richards.

“We’re going to try something new, see how it works, test it for two weekends, and evaluate the program from there.”

Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired: