Cost of car to enter National Park: $25.00
Cost of 3 bicycles to enter National Park: $36.00
Okay, I don't mind giving money to the National Park system, that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is that for 3 cyclists to get into a national park it would be cheaper to take a car in with a bike rack rather than simply cycling in. It's true, even 6 cyclists in a van would still be $25.00, while if they had actually rode their bikes in it would cost $72.00.
What also bothers me is that a bicycle has almost no impact upon the land, it pollutes nothing to the environment and it will most definitly not harm the animals in the park (as a car going 45mph possibly could). So shouldn't the national parks try to encourage this form of travel?
Perhaps if they had specific bike paths through the woods, or large shoulders throughout the park designed for bicycles I wouldn't mind paying the fee. But the National Parks we went through (Grand Tetons and Yellowstone) are catered towards cars and RVs and that is pretty much it.
Feel free to comment.
-Rose
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4 comments:
Bicycling is certainly low-impact and should be encouraged. If you need a reminder of the costs of our excess energy consumption see "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore in the theaters now.
that's what we thought too... although they seem to have raised the rates by $2.00 this year. we each paid $10 each last summer, while an RV full of people, who seemed to think they had the right of way over us on the roads, leaving trash and spewing fumes only paid $20 for the whole bus.
We are coming Tuesday 8/15.
Will try to rent an RV in Portland
and draft you two the last hundred miles. Sound like a plan?
Keep on pedalin'.
PS: Just spoke with Mom - might just be a Ford Taurus from Rent-A-Wreck, instead.
The difference between reality and what is reasonable, may be do to a lack of consideration, and compliance of the majority.
Thank you for bringing this up. I, and I hope others, will make comments or complaints to every establishment, whether local or national that inappropriately charges bicyclists for the damages done by motorists.
I expect I will have to bring a pen and papers to do this when I leave Aug 10th 08 for Westernexpress/Transam.
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