One of the park’s biggest problems is overcrowding…too many people converging on the priceless beauty of Yosemite. We’re talking 4 1/2 million visitors a year. During peak visitor periods, the result oftentimes is near gridlock conditions. !n 1994, there were an unprecedented 7 weekends when visitor access was actually restricted.
Additionally, there are related issues, including diesel-spewing tour buses. Some of the solutions being suggested are controversial: a huge parking garage in the already overbuilt Yosemite Valley, or an expensive shuttle system that would route visitors in and out of the valley. Superintendent B.J. Griffin has issued a newsletter addressing this overcrowding problem–a problem so bad, Griffin says, that “given the daily vehicle congestion and resource damage resulting from current visitation levels, unrestricted access cannot continue”.