Park wants to expand Apgar parking

Glacier National Park is proposing major changes in the Apgar area, including moving the visitor center operations into its existing transit center and expanding parking in several locations.

The Park announced the plan last week. The current visitor center, which is located next to Montana House, is an older "Mission 66" building. In summertime, it's often elbow-to-elbow with people, and in the winter it barely holds a classroom of students on a field trip.

Park officials want to move visitor-center operations to the transit center, which was built in 2007 to accommodate people using the Park's shuttle busses. The transit center, save for a few displays, is mostly empty. Moving visitor-center operations there would provide more space.

The Park is also considering expanding the transit center building to further accommodate crowds. The current visitor center could be converted into a plaza with public restrooms.

Park officials also would like to expand or modify parking at five Apgar locations. This includes:

• Adding about two acres of parking at the transit center to accommodate 15 more recreational vehicles and 50 more cars.

• Expanding parking east of the current visitor center along the Apgar Loop Road.

• Creating more oversized-vehicle parking south of an existing lot near the Apgar School House.

• Creating "head-in" parking in front of the Cedar Tree Gift shop.

• Expanding parking along Lake View Drive, just south of the boat-ramp parking area.

• Expanding parking at the ranger station parking lot for oversized vehicles.

The Park is preparing an environmental assessment for the transit center parking, but it claims the other parking expansions are covered by the Park's commercial services plan and its general management plan.

A public meeting on the plan is scheduled for Sept. 7 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Apgar Transit Center. Presentations will be given at 3:30 and 5 p.m.

Comments on the plan should be submitted by Sept. 15 online at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/ApgarTransitParking, or mailed to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: Apgar Transit Center Parking EA and Apgar Parking Plan, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier MT 59936.