ML20203P939
| ML20203P939 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 11/28/1984 |
| From: | INTERIOR, DEPT. OF, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE |
| To: | |
| References | |
| OL-I-LEA-E-022, OL-I-LEA-E-22, NUDOCS 8605080380 | |
| Download: ML20203P939 (3) | |
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'Draf-General Management Plan, Valley Fo'rg onal k
No 88
)
Table 1.
Park Visitor Day Use
~,
(Typical Peak Summer Month) j; CD!p D
"y 7
kd Proj%
a e
4j13 Total
% of
% Change Annual w#
g Contacts Total From 1978 Visits Activity 1978 1978 1979 1980 (1981)
E u
Obs rvation Tower Use 24,620 5.2
-6
- 37 107,649 Mod:1 Airoiane Flying 3,150 0.6
-58
- 17 16,820 Hirs:back Riding 730 0.1
-23
+ 63 6,728 Bicycling 5,685 1.2
-33
- 15 33,640 Dog Walking 1,653 0.3
+6
+ 62 16,820 Jogging 3,241 0.6
+70
+ 78 40,368 Fishing 763 0.1
+42
+ 92 10,092 N
Botting 813 0.1
+33
+ 80 10,092 y
Bus Riding 11,205 2.5
+73
+195 225,391 Kits Flying 140 0
+58
+241 3,364 Picnicking 12,375 2.7
+2
+129 195,115 Visitor Center Use 25,318 5.3
+48
+ 41 242,211 i
B;tzwood Area Use 24,060 5.1
+21
+ 38 228,755 Pl:asure DrNir g 243,360 51.5
-13 6
1,547,460 Visits to Historic Facilities 115,869 24.5 NA*
NA*
824,191 1
~
tal 472,982 100%
3,508,696 CNot applica:te because certain historic sites have been removed f tour route.
rom the t
- lic Visitation f:gures included t
in this section are based on several sources, tha most c - orehensive of which is the pcrk's monthly public use report.
_I g Another N
sc rce includes a visitor use survey that was conducted during the summe-
~
Of 1979 to provide data for this plan and to analyze a park
- :$'U bus transb.
system.
Staff and planning team observations were also y
E tcpp:d for :eneral visitation characteristics and trends.
a M
NA Tha total ' : ume of park-related use has greatly increased since 1975. $ 4f
=
Tho comme-wealth of Pennsylvania estimated 1.7 million visits in 1975; 5 9 e
th:ra were 3.1 million visits in 1979 and 3.3 million in '1980.
Traffic $
0 El o
.lEE gE c unts for ' 979 totaled over 11 million.
{ b.
c Of all tra'fic through the park, 25 percent is estimated to be park go Ba G V<
visitors; c' this percentage, about 25 percent has-historical interest. =4 d
N Tha heavies-visitation occurs from April through December, with peak y 0
conc:ntratter.s on holidays and weekends during special attractions such as fall cct:- and dogwood flowering, in 1978 during the peak period, 8
.c*
t%re were soproximately 317,000 visitors per month compared with 93,000 N
Jt:rs per month during the off-season (January-March).
3 The 317,000 q
visit rs per nonth is 11 percent of the theoretical capacity of the park's
- g Ik 3Pa.
ss 3 } il s 8605000300 841128 ej a s
PDR ADOCK 05000352 e
g PDR 25
4 vehicle parking spaces.
. Since the state rehabilitation program, the bicentennial, and the park's recent national status, historically oriented i visitation has increased dramatically, in 1978 over 250,000 visits were tallied at both Washington's headquarters and the visitor center.
2 I
Whereas historically oriented visitation is spread evenly throughout the week, nearly 40 percent of all recreational use occurs on weekends between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. j.
on Sundays. Almost 70 percent of all Sunday visits take place during I these peak hours. On a typical peak Sunday, 90 percent of all visitors use private automobiles; the remainder use other. forms of transportation, j, such as tour bus, horse, bicycle, or foot.
in 1979 the 25 percent of Sunday visitors with historical interest (2,322 i visitors) required 580 vehicle parking spaces at Washington's i headquarters, the visitor center, Varnum's quarters, and Washington Memorial Chapel.
The remaining 75 percent of Sunday visitors with,
recreational interest (6,967 visitors) required 1,742 autos to be parked at :
outlying areas as well as major historic sites.
At present the 1,333 garkmg spaces serving historic sites will hold 16,000 cars with a 30-im r m t e turnover during peak hours.
The 1,241 spaces serving recreation areas will hold 7,400 cars with a turnover every 40 -
minutes.
Based on the visitor use survey, the typical length of stay on the weekend of the historically oriented visitor is 27 minutes each at ;
three sites; the visitor interested in weekend recreation stays about 37 minutes at one site.
Total daily park capacity at the current turnover rate is theoretically about 93,600 historical and recreational use visitors. !
I Assumptions can be made about the various use patterns of visitors based.
their proximity to the park and how frequently they visit.
National on visitors (those living more than 50 miles away and requiring lodging -
somewhere in the vicinity) will visit infrequently, maybe only once or -
twice during their lifetime.
The full range of visitor information and -
orientation, plus all interpretive facilities, picnic areas, and trails, could be used in association with seeing the historic resources. The visitor use l
survey indicated that 27 percent of the respondents were first-timers, and 33 percent were of national or regional origin.
(The heaviest I
percentage of national visitation occurs during summer months.)
l I
I Regional visitors live from 25 to 50 miles away, which means they might j l
seek accommodations in the area.
They would likely visit the park If; several times a year though not as often as local users.
Special events would particularly attract regional visitors.
They might bring friends or i
relatives from out of the region on subsequent visits.
After their initial i
orientation, regional visitoi s would likely concentrate on interpretive programs and historic resources of interest to them.
Their use would be j,
spread more evenly throughout the year than national visitors, and they 1
would probably engage in some recreational pursuits during their visit.
j Local users live within a 25-mile radius of the park, the majority in the j suburban philadelphia area.
These visitors would use the park for L
historical purposes about like their regional counterparts; however, they L
would visit the park more frequently for recreational purposes.
To I
i 26
h
]
continually reach this audience, interpretive programs would need to r
change with time or be more specialized, e.g.,
- seminars, lectures, themes.
[
C p
General Develooment h
C b
Existina Visitor Use Facilities.
Table 2 inventories existing visitor use e
facilities witnin tne park.
Table 4, which is included at the end of the
'q f
"The Plan, General Development" section, shows a comparison of existing and proposed visitor use facilities (parking spaces, picnic tables, and
)
restrooms ).
Access / Circulation.
Various geographic ' barriers have forced the regional f
transportation routes through Valley Forge.
(I-76) and County Line Expressway (PA 363) are man-made barriersThe Pennsylva of which have limited access to the park.
Over the years increased k
, all traffic frcm housing developments has reinforced their utilitarian importance.
The primary mode of access to Valley Forge is by private vehicle residents sometimes ride horseback, walk, q
Local Direct access by public transportation is limited.or, bicycle into the park.
l Three state routes--23, 252, and 363--lie within the boundaries of the park PA 23, south of the Schuylkill River, carries commercial and
, ) comm. uter traffic. PA 252, on the western edge of the park, carries a heavy volume of truck traffic between PA 23 and US 202.
as an extension of PA 23 and as access to the park from the east.PA 363 serves g-Traffic at the Valley Creek Bridge exceeds 14,000 vehicles a day, with 9,000 vehicles on PA 23, 4,000 on Gulph Road, and 1,200 on PA 252.
approximately 1,000 vehicles per hour in both directions. Pe
==
. with k I At present PA 23 and PA 252 are important to both external L'
through-traffic and to park visitation.
~~
Generally, park visitors tend to drive at or below the speed limit, whereas commercial and commuter h
traffic often forces traffic flow to exceed posted speed limits.
The the main entrance to the park from the west. intersection of thes is This creates considerable conflict particularly when visitors are focusing on park features rather than traffic.
.r-Much of the commercial and ccmmuter, traffic on PA 23 is between Phoenixville and the western Prussia.
fringes of Philadelphia, a four-lane limitedTo alleviate traffic congestion op secondary' roads in this area access expressway kW6wn as the Pottstown bypass is W
now under contract.
A spur from this route to Phoenixville will be constructed later.
The Park Service also supports conr.truction of access q.
camps at Pawling Road.
These facilities combined should significantly ky Jrcduce nonpark-related through-traffic on PA 23.
97