Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Monday, April 17, 2023 @ 12:38 p.m. / Parks, Traffic
RNSP Officials Scrap Proposed Howland Hill Traffic Flow Change, Saying More Data is Needed
Redwood National and State Parks scrapped a plan to initiate one-way traffic on Howland Hill Road, the scenic route that leads to the Grove of Titans. | Photo courtesy of Max Forster, Save the Redwoods League
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Park officials pulled the brake on a summer pilot project to change the flow of traffic on Howland Hill Road in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
Following an April 5 meeting of residents living in Hiouchi and on Douglas Park Road at the scenic drive’s eastern gateway, Redwood National and State Parks officials decided more data was necessary before implementing one-way traffic.
As a result, parks will deploy an online survey meant to gather feedback from a variety of groups, Deputy Superintendent Erin Gates said.
“We’ve had people telling us about their experience driving that road for years, but it’s more in passing,” she told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Monday. “Having that survey will help drive feedback from all different user groups whether it’s Crescent City locals, Douglas Park (and) Hiouchi locals and the hundreds of thousands of visitors that are passing through.”
Parks officials proposed implementing one-way traffic on a portion of Howland Hill Road in an effort to reduce the number of collisions. More than 600 cars a day drive the scenic route that leads into the Grove of Titans, Stout Grove and the Boy Scout Tree Trail, Gates told the Outpost before the Douglas Park meeting.
The pilot project would have one-way traffic start at the Howland Hill Outdoor School gate in the west and extend it to the Stout Grove access trail. There would still be two-way traffic east of Stout Grove and vehicles accessing the area from U.S. 199 would be able to turn around in the Stout Grove parking lot.
The pilot project would have lasted from June 15 through Labor Day.
After meeting with Douglas Park Road residents, RNSP officials sent an email out to those who attended outlining the steps they’ll take in lieu of going forward with their pilot project.
Those steps include installing signs warning motorists that they’re approaching a residential area and to slow down.
Officials will also increase marketing the option for visitors to access the Grove of Titans and Stout Grove from the Jedediah Smith Day-use area via a footbridge during the summer. The footbridge will be installed when water levels in the Smith River drop below 5 feet.
In its email to the community, RNSP officials state they would also “continue to explore shuttle and non-single family auto options.” But that doesn’t mean parks would initiate a shuttle service, Gates told the Outpost.
“We aren’t seeking any kind of concession. A concession would be a business that is originating inside the park boundary,” she said. “This would be exploring options with any of our commercial-use permit holders that may want to offer an additional service to what they’re already offering (as well as) any new commercial permit holders that don’t offer anything, but want to start.”
Another step the parks service will take to address safety concerns, in addition to deploying its survey, is to collect additional traffic data. Gates said RNSP had stationed car counters at either end of Howland Hill in September 2021, but the data itself was difficult to interpret.
“We’re doing a large visitor use study — we’ve been doing it for about a year and a half — and what we’re going to be doing is a deeper dive especially for Howland Hill,” she said. “We’re having the contractor develop a better sense of patterns — how are visitors utilizing that road currently?”
Elsewhere in Redwood National and State Parks, the number of reservations and permits available will increase for the Tall Trees Trailhead and Gold Bluffs Beach Day-use Area, which includes access to Fern Canyon.
Reservations for Gold Bluffs Beach will be required from May 15-Sept. 15, though the number will increase by 65 reservations per day and people will be able to get their permits the day before they visit, according to a parks news release.
For the Tall Trees Trailhead, the number of reservations will increase by 10 and people will also be able to get their permits the day before they intend to visit.
Backpackers visiting Elam Camp, 44 Camp and the Redwood Creek Dispersed Camping Area will also be able to park at the Tall Trees Trailhead without a separate Tall Trees Trailhead permit.
For more information about reservations, click here.
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