The Nationwide Park Service plans to start out charging charges for the primary time for night excursions on the Level Bonita Lighthouse within the Marin Headlands.
The charges on the lately reopened landmark are slated to start this summer time. The excursions, which would require reservations, will price $16 for guests ages 16 or older, $8 for seniors and entry move holders and $10 for youngsters ages 7 to fifteen.
The park service has but to announce a set date for when the charges will take impact.
The park additionally plans to start charging for parking for the primary time on the small commuter lot off Conzelman Street close to the north finish of the Golden Gate Bridge starting in both 2023 or 2024 on the earliest. Parking will price $3 per hour with a most cost of $10.
Additionally, on April 1, parking charges within the Presidio space of San Francisco will rise from $1.60 per hour to $3 per hour for a $10 most cost on the Battery East car parking zone, the West Bluff car parking zone and the West Bluff picnic space. Parking charges will solely be charged from 8 a.m. to six p.m.
The charges are a subset of these the park service had proposed to enact for the primary time at different parking tons within the Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space. The opposite areas included Rodeo Seashore-Fort Cronkhite and Stinson Seashore in Marin County in addition to Baker Seashore, China Seashore, Lands Finish Lookout and Sutro Heights in San Francisco. The park service determined to not enact these charges after public pushback and opposition from Rep. Jared Huffman, whose district contains Marin, and Rep. Jackie Speier.
San Francisco resident Amy Meyer, who spearheaded the motion that led to the creation of the Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space in 1972, was amongst those that opposed charges on the different areas. Meyer mentioned the charges the park is planning on the Presidio and Level Bonita Lighthouse have been, if not ultimate, a minimum of extra cheap.
“These appeared, as a gaggle, extra doable and having much less impression on common customers,” Meyer mentioned.
Park spokesperson Julian Espinoza mentioned the Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space — already among the many nation’s high three most-visited nationwide parks — had a big improve in visits through the pandemic as folks sought a protected respite from the confines of their properties. The park plans to make use of the brand new income to extend funds for providers comparable to trash assortment, cleansing and upkeep.
“We’ve had charges at each of those parking tons for nearly 10 years now,” Espinoza mentioned of the 2 Presidio parking tons. “The adjustments are supposed to carry costs according to different parking areas. We checked out seashores and coastal areas managed by different public land administration companies to set that value.”
Whereas Espinoza mentioned there was some opposition final yr to the thought of elevating the charges, he mentioned public transit runs near many of those areas.
“That gives an reasonably priced different to driving,” Espinoza mentioned. “Each areas are positioned subsequent to pedestrian and bicycle pathways.”
The Level Bonita Lighthouse tour charges shall be used to pay for staffing, the brand new tour reservation system and enhancements at different park websites such because the Stinson Seashore lifeguard tower. The charges are barely lower than the brand new tour charges enacted at Fort Level earlier this yr.
Public feedback submitted in regards to the charges throughout a assessment interval have been unavailable. Park service employees mentioned the feedback might solely be obtained by means of a Freedom of Info Act request as a result of the paperwork contained the private info of the commenters. The Unbiased Journal has submitted a data request.
Meyer mentioned the late congressman Phil Burton, with whom she labored to introduce the laws that created the Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space, thought that all the parks must be free. Meyer mentioned most of the issues the park faces now's as a result of it doesn't obtain sufficient federal appropriations to cowl primary upkeep prices.
“GGNRA is a unprecedented, closely used park,” Meyer mentioned. “These charges are coming in in an effort to make up for an absence of appropriations when there needs to be higher appropriations when a park racks up a variety of guests that the GGNRA will get yearly.”