Businesses raise concerns about Sun Road ticketed entry; Public can weigh in this week virtually

Area businesses and locals last week expressed concern about a proposed ticketed entry this summer to drive the Going-tothe- Sun Road. Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow recently announced the park was considering a system whereby a visitor would have to get a ticket to enter the park during the busiest hours of the day. People who arrived before 6 a.m. or later in the evening — the park has set a firm time on that just yet — would not need a ticket. Other roads in Glacier would also not need tickets to enter.

Mow met via videoconference with business interests on both sides of the divide, trying to gauge public opinion.

One business owner said that from its experience, people simply won’t come if they can’t be assured they can drive the Sun Road.

“If they don’t think they’ll be able to get in, they’ll cancel,” the business owner, who asked not to be identified, said.

The visiting public already appears to have the jitters. One woman who booked a trip here this summer called the Hungry Horse News last week wondering if she would be able to get into

the park. She said she couldn’t get an answer from the Park Service, so she called the newspaper for clarification on the matter.

One business owner suggested the park try a different system, perhaps parking or day use permits for the most popular places in Glacier. If they didn’t have a permit for say, Avalanche Creek, they’d have to go somewhere else.

Another business representative suggested the park work with a stakeholder group on devising a plan to control crowds while limiting the impact to businesses.

Locals weren’t pleased with the idea either. One woman wanted to know if the park would let in locals that already had a pass.

The short answer was no, the federal government had no way to give preference to locals.

The idea behind the ticketed entry was to lend assurances to visitors that they could get in the park. Glacier closed the west entrance on about two dozen occasions last year because parking was full, though it was not a throughroad last year. It was closed at Rising Sun because of the Blackfeet Tribe’s closure due to the pandemic.

There appears to be good news on that front. The tribe last week announced it was easing some restrictions, now allowing restaurants to have a capacity of 50% to 75% as the number of cases on the reservation has dropped dramatically and about 72% of its eligible

population has now had at least the first dose of the vaccine.

Glacier County had just three active cases as of Monday.

Mow said the park plans on opening the east side this summer, but couldn’t say when, exactly, though he said he has been keeping in contact with the tribe.

The park is still working on just how the reservation system will work. Right now about 70% would be available 30 to 60 days in advance and the remainder two days in advance. It would run from June 1 to Labor Day.

Still, the system seemed onerous to businesses.

Mow himself admitted it would be a “pain” both for visitors and park staff.

Last year Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park used ticketed entry. According to Yosemite’s website, the requirement was lifted March 1. Rocky Mountain suspended its use as well, though in a recorded message on its phone system, said it could implement some sort of

system again this summer.

Glacier will hold another round of listening sessions with the public this week on the ticketed entry system on March 18 from 7-8 p.m. regarding the system and other challenges Glacier is facing this summer.

Sponsored by the Glacier National Park Conservancy, the virtual meeting will be held over Zoom. Members of the public are welcome to attend and can register online on the Glacier National Park Conservancy website www.glacier. org. Or directly at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlc--grTMjHdCZVhkF4wdeoX3pa7bfh37b