The parking lot at the Apgar Transit Center in Glacier National Park will be expanded following approval from an environmental analysis.
The National Park Service last month signed the decision document that found no environmental significant impact would occur from expanding the parking lot with an additional 195 spaces.
The proposed expansion was initiated to accommodate increased visitor use. The parking lot will be extended roughly 90 feet to the north and 90 feet to the east, providing space for almost 200 vehicles, including including 21 RV or oversized vehicles. The project is anticipated to begin this fall and take an estimated eight weeks overall to complete.
Twelve comment letters were received during the EA review period; none were opposed to the project and eight expressed support, according to Glacier Park officials.
Built in 2007 as part of the Going-to-the-Sun Road Rehabilitation Project, the Apgar Transit Center is a staging area for the transit system and facilitates visitor access and orientation along the Sun road during road rehabilitation. In the near future, the park intends to move visitor center operations from the existing visitor contact station to the Apgar Transit Center as a first step toward implementing a decision from the 1999 Final General Management Plan to develop a visitor center and museum at the site. The existing transit center parking lot is too small to accommodate additional parking once visitor center operations are moved.