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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2008

Take a Shuttle to the Redwoods, and Leave Parking Hassles Behind

For an adult round-trip fare of $3, summertime visitors can ride a shuttle to Muir Woods and avoid parking hassles.
(Photo: Noah Berger)

This past summer, Golden Gate Transit Route 66 — known as the Muir Woods Shuttle — returned to Marin County for its fourth year of service, allowing visitors to access the Bay Area’s redwood wonders without fighting traffic or adding to the jam-packed parking lots and surrounding roads.

Five thousand people make the trek to Muir Woods National Monument on a busy weekend day, while there is only room for about 190 cars in the parking lots. And on most weekend mornings, the lots fill up by 9 a.m.

“We did some research about visitors to Muir Woods, and we discovered that people spent more time trying to find a parking space than they did in the woods,” said Muir Woods Site Supervisor Mia Monroe. “From the National Park Service perspective, we wanted people to have a better experience getting here, and a better experience in the park.”

The county battles a related problem: Horrendous traffic grinds through south Marin from U.S. 101 to Muir Woods and Stinson Beach. A predictable segment of that gridlock was the traffic to Muir Woods, and so the park service and county leadership put their heads together and, with the help of Golden Gate Transit, began in 2005 to offer shuttle service from Marin City and a Pohono Street park-and-ride stop at the edge of Mill Valley into Muir Woods. Service now operates from May to September on weekends and holidays on a 30-minute schedule.

Ridership has tripled since the shuttle started service, and accounted for 30,000 trips to and from the park in 2008 — the latest in a series of impressive statistics that helped earn the service a 2008 Award of Merit. “The ridership demand for this service has blown us away,” said Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan. “And the shuttle is helping local leaders see that transit is an option here in Marin.”

The shuttle is also an example of successful recreation-focused ITS, or “intelligent transportation systems.” During the summer season, changeable message signs on U.S. 101 are used to warn visitors when the parking lots are full, and urge them to take the shuttle.

“I was a skeptic about the signs at first,” said Monroe, “but now I see the direct connection between the signs and shuttle usage. As soon as that sign goes on, everyone pulls off the highway to go into the lot, and the shuttles fill up.”

“The critical factors for success were the signs on the freeway warning people that the parking lot was full, and getting the word out to hotels that there is a noncar option,” said McGlashan.  

— Karin Betts

See VIDEO: Muir Woods Shuttle

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