REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
Public Comment Period from May 11th - May 29th, 2009.
Proposed Accessibility Improvements at Golden Gate National Recreation Area:
MUIR WOODS
Introduction
Muir Woods National Monument is managed to protect the primeval redwood forest in the larger Redwood Creek watershed, and to interpret the Monument’s natural history, as well as the establishment of the Monument, which had a major role in the early American conservation movement.
One of the most well-known iconic sites in the park, Muir Woods is an international attraction and ecological treasure. With trees over 1,000 years old, it preserves a small yet towering vestige of the vast forests of Sequoia that once graced the slopes and valleys surrounding San Francisco Bay. The Monument also supports an incredible diversity of flora and fauna. The park balances preserving the redwood ecosystem with providing access to a large number of visitors. For many, it is their initial experience with the national park system. Key park objectives include fostering a conservation ethic among visitors, preserving and restoring critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, supporting public transportation as a way to reduce congestion, and promoting a watershed perspective in land management that includes state parks, two water districts, and local communities.
Key Experience
The key experience for the visitor to Muir Woods is that of being in the primeval forest, experiencing the grandeur, the immense stature and breadth, and the unbelievable age of this forest of California Coast Redwoods. Key is the experience of sudden peace, quiet, gloom, moisture, and bird sounds. Leaf litter and ferns cover the moist ground, and a creek burbles through the forest floor. The visitor may feel awe and respect for nature, and a sense of his or her place in time. Solitude, ritual and ceremony are associated with Muir Woods. Classes and meetings are held on the deck next to the Administrative offices and food concession. Everyone seems to want to touch a giant tree, but this is generally not allowed. Visitors enjoy the displays of plants that can be touched, a slice of a giant redwood trunk with a timeline pointing out 700 years of history captured in the tree rings. Secondary experiences are considered as traveling to the park, parking, visiting the restrooms, visitor center, taking tours, interacting with rangers and docents, sitting on benches among the giant trees, and dining at the café. Visitor satisfaction surveys demonstrate that Muir Woods NHS receives the highest rating for any NPS site in the nation.
Proposed Accessibility Improvements & Questions for Public Input
1. Parking and Shuttle: Proposed short term accessibility improvements include re-grading and striping accessible parking spaces at the main parking lots. The park has implemented a two year pilot program with accessible buses to shuttle visitors from satellite parking off Highway 101 to Muir Woods Visitors Center on weekends to ease congestion. In the midterm, the GGNRA General Management Plan will put forward recommendations for an off-site welcome center and continued use of the shuttle system.
2. Visitors Center: Proposed short term accessibility improvements to the visitor center include lowering sections of the exterior and interior service counters to accessible heights, installing accessible benches and replacing the drinking fountain. The long term proposed improvement includes the development of an interpretive plan for exhibits and wayside interpretive signage.
3. Concessions and Restroom Buildings: Short term corrective actions to improve accessibility at the restroom buildings and concession are currently underway. Construction is expected to be complete by 2010.
4. Meeting and Classroom Space: The Old Inn/Maintenance Shop and Ed Lab (residential unit), the few group gathering spaces on property have previously been used for classroom and meeting space, mostly during bad weather or for special workshops. Both buildings lack accessible entrances and accessible interior routes and spaces. As a result of the accessibility assessments, the public use has been relocated to the deck near the concession. The space is used in all weather for classes, lectures and gatherings. A canopy is erected in wet weather. In the short term, a temporary modular meeting space/classroom building is proposed for placement adjacent to the main parking lot. In the midterm, the GGNRA General Management Plan will put forward recommendations for permanent gathering and interpretive spaces.
5. Visitor Orientation, Publications and Website: Within six months the park web site will be updated with the most current available information regarding accessible facilities, areas, and programs and will be routinely updated to reflect the latest information as the park Accessibility Action and Transition plans are implemented. The web site will include specific point of contact information for those who may need to request accommodations, such as sign language interpreters, in advance. Within the short term, the park will design the primary Muir Woods park brochure in large print and format the content for Braille, audio formats, and electronic file for posting on the park web sites. Within the short term, the park will develop a thermoplastic, raised-line map as temporary/portable visitor use and orientation. In the midterm, the proposed accessibility improvement includes the design of new wayfinding signage with tactile maps for placement throughout Muir Woods.
6. Waysides and Interpretive Signs: Within one year, the Park proposes to develop a system-wide design and implementation plan to update all fundamental (i.e. key to enjoying the primary experience of a site) park orientation kiosks, panels and maps to include visitor information in multiple modes such as graphics, text, tactile elements and audio. Within the second year, the Park proposes to develop a comprehensive plan for the use of audio description at waysides and begin implementation of the delivery system park-wide.
Questions: Will the proposed short and midterm solutions provide adequate orientation to Muir Woods ? Please provide comment on the proposed methods (raised line maps, 3-D models, tactile maps, audio description).
7. Tours and Talks: Within the short term, the park will acquire a portable assistive listening system that can be used by park visitors for tours and talks. In addition staff have identified qualified local service providers for real time captioning, live audio description and sign language interpreters; and will establish a policy where the request for these services is five days in advance and publically post the policy in the program marketing materials including brochures, advertisements, the Muir Woods web sites.
Questions: Public comment is requested on the type of assistive listening system and features that should be acquired. Comment is also requested on user experience with various models including performance and any maintenance issues. In addition, the park seeks comment on whether to establish a weekly or monthly schedule to more regularly provide sign language interpreters for day visits to Muir Woods.
8. Outdoor Furnishings: Benches and picnic tables are located throughout Muir Woods. The proposed short term accessibility improvement includes the installation of additional picnic tables and benches so that a minimum of 50% of the total number are accessible models. The proposed midterm accessibility improvement calls for the access routes to the picnic areas and the surrounding surface pad for the tables and grills to be repaved. As non-accessible benches and picnic tables are replaced, they will be replaced with accessible units.
9. Trails: During the initial accessibility assessment, eight of the most frequently used trails (Alice Eastwood Trail T-50, Ben Johnson Trail T-26, Fern Canyon T-25, Hillside T-23, Muir Woods Roadside Trail T-46, Panoramic Trail (Ocean View) T-45, Redwood Creek Trail (MUWO Main Trail) T-49 and Muir Wood Upper Boardwalk) were assessed for compliance with the U.S. Access Board’s proposed accessibility guidelines for outdoor developed areas under the Architectural Barriers Act.
The main trail along Redwood Creek and primarily used by visitors is constructed of both asphalt and boardwalk. There are several locations throughout the trail where the asphalt path, due to frost heave and wear has resulted in excessive slopes and cross slopes. The proposed short term accessibility improvement is to temporarily patch these areas. The mid to long term plan to preserve and protect the landscape through this heavily visited space is to remove the remaining sections of asphalt path and replace with a boardwalk system. As the boardwalk sections are installed, slope issues on the main path will be further corrected.
While the Alice Eastwood trail has running slopes in excess of 15 percent, it is believed that a redesign of the route of the trail could accommodate the installation of landings and resting intervals to make the trail accessible. Therefore, the proposed mid-term solution is to prepare a topographic survey and design alternatives to reroute the trail.
The remaining trails were either determined to lack a unique purpose where the experience of the trail is not substantially different from other trail experiences in the park or instances where the remaining trails had excessive slopes for over 15 percent of the length of the trail. In these cases, the trail qualifies for a General Exemption for trail accessibility under the Access Board’s proposed accessibility guidelines, which means that it does not need to be made accessible.
Within the year, GGNRA proposes to complete the development of the process documentation for technical review of new trail construction and existing trail alteration projects. Through this process, each trail will be evaluated on a trail by trail basis, where the experience and existing conditions are reviewed to determine the application of the Access Board’s proposed accessibility guidelines for trails. The new decision process will enable the park to plan and document trail construction/alterations for improved accessibility.
Additional Comments
Please provide comment on other areas of accessibility concerns that may not be presented in this summary document.
Muir Woods Comment Sheet (Mail Only)
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