Gettysburg Parks Begin Study To Improve Trails

Originally published March 2016 · p. 21

Gettysburg Parks Begin Study To Improve Trails GETTYSBURG. Pa. — The National Park Service (NPS) hosted an open house and accepted comments through January on its plan to develop a Comprehensive Trails Plan for Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site. The project was initiated last fall, with a year estimate given for coming up with alternatives to be considered for implementation and environmental assessment. An NPS statement said, “The purpose of the Comprehensive Trails Plan is to improve visitor access, convenience, safety, and opportunities for understanding and appreciation of the historic battlefield and the landscape of the Eisenhower site.” This means adding trails for visitors without vehicles, improving safety and accessibility, adding bike routes, expanding access to the Eisenhower site, looking into hiker and biker shuttles, and assessing the expansion of equestrian trails. Such work would solve problems that include traffic congestion during peak visitation, pedestrians and vehicles sharing paved roads, trail erosion and degradation, lack of nonvehicle access and poorly identified pedestrian routes. For more information see the newsletter at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/TrailsPlan.