NPS fee proposal for C&O Canal

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  • February 10, 2015 at 3:47 am #1022641
    radarider
    Participant

    It was reveled at the Hancock meeting this evening that the NPS is backing off on their intent to raise entrance fees and impose a $20 per night fee at all of the hiker/biker campsites. Instead, they are going to focus on collecting parking fees at Great Falls Tavern to close the budget shortfall. It was also discussed that the NPS C&O Canal owns some rather expensive and sophisticated “paving” equipment, however, has only enough discretionary funds to resurface only, ONLY two miles this fiscal year and no means to pay qualified personnel to properly and safely operate the paving machine. If that wasn’t enough there apparently is a whole slue of deferred maintenance items (locks, culverts, aqueducts, wears, etc…) and the general mentality by upper management is to let them fail before any genuine effort is forwarded to repair much less maintain anything. In light of these facts, it is apparent that the entire infrastructure of the 184.5 mile canal/towpath is doomed to collapse into disrepair, ruin and decay.

    February 10, 2015 at 4:18 am #1022650
    brendan
    Participant

    @radarider 107948 wrote:

    In light of these facts, it is apparent that the entire infrastructure of the 184.5 mile canal/towpath is doomed to collapse into disrepair, ruin and decay.

    So…knobby tires?

    B

    February 10, 2015 at 9:07 pm #1022736
    Bruno Moore
    Participant

    Wait, paving equipment for the towpath? Like those dump trucks full of gravel you sometimes see along the way, trying their damnedest to keep a 200 year old, usually ill-maintained road built by the lowest bidder marginally passable?

    February 10, 2015 at 9:38 pm #1022743
    mstone
    Participant

    @radarider 107948 wrote:

    In light of these facts, it is apparent that the entire infrastructure of the 184.5 mile canal/towpath is doomed to collapse into disrepair, ruin and decay.

    There’s no chance that the canal will not further decay–the money to repair it does not exist. (And never did, which is why it was economically non-viable from the first shovel of dirt moved.) The best NPS can do is try to preserve representative examples of the various features.

    I’m not sure if they were ever serious about this proposal, or if it was a way to raise attention. There was no chance that the amount of money raised would close the funding gap (it’s too large, and $20 here or there isn’t going to make a dent.) I’m willing to pay more for parks (and am finally getting off my butt to buy an annual pass, though it will probably be a bit of a loss) but this proposal sucked–the H/B sites simply aren’t worth as much as a full service site. If they want to restructure the fees, a nominal amount for the H/B sites would probably be fine, but that goes back to whether this was serious.

    February 10, 2015 at 10:51 pm #1022748
    brendan
    Participant

    Last summer we rode the GAP and towpath from Pittsburgh to DC. Several weeks before our trip, the NPS resurfaced a few miles of the towpath east of Whites Ferry that had been pretty horrendous for over a year (and marginal at best for years before that).

    It was significant work, they trucked in soil and rocks which was then placed and packed down.

    I will say this: After four plus days of heavy hauling*, the newly repacked miles were very much appreciated.

    Brendan

    * and while a laptop, lithium power box, video projector, PA system and set of wireless mics were somewhat of a ridiculous thing to carry bike camping, having projected-onto-the-hillside karaoke hour at the hiker biker campsites made it worth it. :)

    February 11, 2015 at 2:01 pm #1022790
    Tim Kelley
    Participant

    @brendan 108058 wrote:

    * and while a laptop, lithium power box, video projector, PA system and set of wireless mics were somewhat of a ridiculous thing to carry bike camping, having projected-onto-the-hillside karaoke hour at the hiker biker campsites made it worth it. :)

    Pics or it didn’t happen!

    February 12, 2015 at 2:34 am #1022899
    brendan
    Participant

    @Tim Kelley 108101 wrote:

    Pics or it didn’t happen!

    It was *really* dark out and I didn’t have a proper camera, so the only pic I had was a very very dark semi-blur of some lyrics don’t stop believin’ with a vaguely grassy fuzz texture to the letters, which may have been deleted due to the cheesiness factor. :P

    I’ll make sure to bring a real camera next time. :)

    B

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