Logan Pass Improvement Project Glacier National Park

  • Devan Peterson |
  • Kyle Horton |
  • Jake Egley |
  • Jordan Duncan |
  • Luke Martineau |
  • Cooper Karras

Congestion at Logan Pass

Glacier National Park has seen drastic increases in park visitation. The number of visitors has increased from 2.3 million to 3 million visitors in the past 5 years.

The Going to the Sun Road at Logan Pass exhibits an iconic overlook of the park. The parking lot is often full before 10:00 AM and remains full the remainder of the day during peak season (See Figure 1).

The purpose of the Logan Pass Improvement Project is to enhance visitor experience at Logan Pass. This will be accomplished by reducing traffic congestion and increasing safety and accessibility while maintaining the environmental integrity of the park.

Figure 1 – Parking Lot Capacity

Project Constraints

Conducting engineering operations in a national park posed some unique challenges. Challenges included:

  • Managing over 119 federal and environmental regulations that protect the park
  • Operating with shortened construction windows due to lingering snow levels
  • Accounting for strong increases in park visitation
  • Aligning with goals of the National Park Service
Figure 2 – Existing Parking Lot Design (Left), Proposed Redesign (Below) The proposed redesign of Logan Pass to include 272 Standard Stalls, 18 new ’20-min’ stalls types for visitors parking 20 min. or less, 9 ADA Stalls, 7 Bus Parking Stalls, and 16 new In-Line Motorcycle Stalls. The new ‘20-min’ and In-line Motorcycle Stalls are located at the southernmost end of the parking lot.

Alternatives Considered

EVO Engineering evaluated several alternative approaches to solving congestion issues at Logan Pass. Alternatives were then evaluated based on project constraints and criteria.

  1. Do Nothing
  2. Improve Rideshare and Transit
  3. Develop Alternative Parking Systems
  4. Improving Infrastructure
  5. Increase Bike Access and Usage

Solution Components

The recommended alternative combines aspects of each suggested alternative in order to satisfy the project purpose.

  • Addition of bike racks to buses and park locations
  • Redesign and restriping the Logan Pass parking lot
  • Addition of in-line motorcycle stalls
  • Creation of new 20-min parking stalls
  • Restrictions on overnight parking

The new Logan Pass parking lot striping plan is more efficient in area use. The new design adds an additional 47 standard parking stalls, one additional ADA van accessible stall, and 16 new In-Line Motorcycle Stalls (See Figure 2). The proposed redesign is estimated to increase successful parking attempts by 41%. The final cost of the project is estimated to be $450,000.00.

Table 1 – Project Effectiveness Summary