The Grand Teton National Park pathways are an outstanding success, bringing people from all walks of life into their national park with the ability to leave their car behind. Pathways allow people to get out from behind the windshield, reduce traffic, reduce impacts and ride a bike, walk, or operate a wheelchair in safety.

Currently, 20 miles of pathway are complete in Grand Teton National Park, connecting downtown Jackson with Jenny Lake. During the Fall of 2014, construction will begin to connect Moose to Antelope Flats Road.

Soon a 30 mile Grand Loop will be a reality, connecting Moose to Jackson to Wilson to Teton Village and back to Moose. All by a 3.5 mile section of the pathway are already constructed, under construction, or approved. Friends of Pathways advocates for the completion of this essential missing link.

David Axelrad, “As I am reminded every single day, it is only a matter of life and death.”

We hope you saw the letters from pathways supporters David Axelrad and Len Carlman in Wednesday’s JH News & Guide; they put into words as elegantly and clearly as anyone can, why it is important to comment to Grand Teton National Park in support of a safe and complete pathway along the Moose-Wilson Road, with the utmost regard for our valley’s conservation and stewardship ethic.  We hope you will take the time to read David’s letter reprinted here:

Build the Moose-Wilson Pathway
It will soon be 15 years since my daughter Gabriella died riding a bicycle in Grand Teton National Park.  Gabri died on July 24, 1999 because there was no pathway for cyclists and pedestrians. She died because she had to share the road with motor vehicles.I remember that day too well. It was sunny and warm; the skies were clear. We were part of a Backroads bicycle tour riding near Jenny Lake and Gabri, an experienced cyclist, had gone ahead with other members of the group. She did everything right, riding single file to the right of the fog line, wearing a bright orange safety triangle on her back and a helmet on her head. But she had no chance when an inattentive driver’s van came from behind and slammed into her.When I arrived the paramedics were already at work. I watched as they lost her and pronounced her dead.

Since that time my wife Liza and I have worked to make Grand Teton safe for cyclists and pedestrians. For us, there is only one way to achieve that goal, and that is to build the entire pathway system promised by the 2007 Grand Teton Transportation FEIS. The pathway connecting Moose to Wilson is an essential part of that system.

Building the Moose-Wilson pathway will enable park visitors – hikers, bikers, families with children and the disabled — to get out of their cars and enjoy the beauty of the Park separated from one of the most heavily travelled motor vehicle routes in Grand Teton. This vital transportation alternative will not only achieve the level of safety that cyclists and pedestrians deserve. It will also enhance visitors’ experience and appreciation of the Park, and surely reduce motor vehicle impact on the Park environment.

Grand Teton is ideally suited to construction of a comprehensive pathway system that will be a model for the nation. But the pathway system will not be complete, and people who leave their cars will not be safe, until cyclists and pedestrians have a pathway along the entire road from Moose to Wilson. Whatever plans the Park may have for the 10,300 acre area identified in the recent Moose-Wilson Corridor Comprehensive Management Plan – Scoping Newsletter, a complete Moose-Wilson pathway must be part of that plan. As I am reminded every single day, it is simply a matter of life and death.

No one who chooses to bike or hike should have to fear losing their child on the roads of the Park. The pathway system promised by the 2007 FEIS must be completed, and a complete Moose-Wilson pathway must be part of that system. We won’t rest until we ride that pathway with all of the wonderful people who have supported us since that day in July of 1999 and given their support to the building of pathways in the Park.

 – David Axelrad

Friends of Pathways supports Teton County Commissioners Action on GTNP Moose-Wilson Road

Over the last several weeks, Grand Teton National Park staff have been proposing to local stakeholder groups, including Friends of Pathways, their vision for the Moose-Wilson Road corridor. GTNP’s plans for the road include developing portions of the road into one-way north vehicle traffic only. GTNP staff also indicated that construction of a separated non-motorized pathway would not take place during a 2016 Moose-Wilson realignment construction project. As well, GTNP has proposed that federal money budgeted for pathways projects be reassigned to other transportation projects in GTNP.

Teton County Commissioners, along with Friends of Pathways, have serious concerns with these decisions, including the safety, economic, transportation, and environmental ramifications associated with the changes. Following is the text of a letter from Friends of Pathways to the Teton County Commssioners in support of the Commissioners’ efforts to more directly engage Grand Teton National Park with the community of Jackson Hole in their management plan for Moose-Wilson Road.

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October 15, 2012

Dear Teton County Board of Commissioners, 

Thank you for your leadership in seeking the best solution for safe public access to Grand Teton National Park for the community and for all of our visitors.  Friends of Pathways supports your commitment to our community’s transportation goals and values. 

We also met with GTNP Superintendent Scott and staff two weeks ago when they briefed FOP on the Spring 2013 use change for the Moose-Wilson Road as a one-way road north.  They said they would allow a partial segment of road shoulder use for bicyclists and pedestrians, both directions.

Friends of Pathways believes that a separated pathway along the full length of the Moose-Wilson Road with continued, slow, north-south vehicle travel is the best solution for safe access and resource protection in GTNP.  As such, we support:

1.    A separated pathway on the GTNP section of the Moose-Wilson Road.

2.    No change in public access or direction of travel on the Moose-Wilson Road. 

We acknowledge that the process for change of National Park Service policy is challenging, but we also agree that it can have positive outcomes with dialogue, working together.

FOP has four key comments with regard to this broad community issue:

1.     Realignment of the Moose-Wilson Road between the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center and Moose was recently announced by GTNP for 2016.  In the 2007 GTNP Transportation Plan, non-motorized consideration for this short segment was non-specific.  It would serve the public best, for safe access, to take advantage of the economic, environmental, and safety benefits of constructing the path and road together. 

2.     In FOP’s recent meeting with GTNP, Park officials outlined their hopes for a one-way road north with bicycle and pedestrian travel on the shoulder.  This, however, has serious safety implications for the public, with cyclists and pedestrians traveling against oncoming traffic on an already constrained road.  In a Park that has already seen two deaths from vehicle-cyclist collisions on constrained shoulder segments, we must all be vigilant in improving safety, not diminishing it, or failing to learn from experience.

3.     Funds for pathway construction are targeted to be redirected by the Park to a road intersection treatment at the Gros Ventre Junction.  Instead it would be best to use pathway funds for pathway projects as intended.

4.     The negative impacts of a southbound Moose-Wilson Road closure to Teton County are concerning.  Limiting access to Teton Village and adding more pressure on existing roadways will have far reaching economic implications.  The environmental consequences are significant.  More pressure on roadways outside of the Park boundaries such as Highway 89, Highway 22, and Highway 390, where elk migration is heavy, and moose and bison regularly cross, would put area wildlife in more danger.  The added consumption of fuel and related emissions for longer vehicle trips are not fitting for a community that is working successfully toward better energy efficiency.

On behalf of our membership, we thank you for recognizing that the Moose-Wilson Road in Grand Teton National Park deserves further analysis and public dialogue, with safety and access protected.  The Transportation Plan of 2007 states: “Transportation issues facing the Park and neighboring communities of Jackson and Teton Village are connected.”  We agree, and urge that connectedness be enhanced as confirmed in the GTNP Environmental Impact Statement.  The original EIS from 2006 reports that 90% of the public is in favor of pathways in the Park.  The incredible success of the pathways constructed to date in GTNP with connections to the systems in Town of Jackson and Teton County are tangible evidence of such support.  You are well aware that it is a longstanding community vision to finally achieve a full and complete loop of safe pathways connecting Jackson, Teton Village, and Grand Teton National Park.

It appears that because of your leadership, a temporary forestallment of a change of access planned for 2013 has been achieved.  But as you know, we must be vigilant for the long-term assurance that this community needs of continued two-way public access and a separated pathway along the Moose-Wilson Road to achieve true safety and quality of experience.

Friends of Pathways agrees that this is an opportunity for leaders with vision to create connectivity between our gateway communities and Park pathway systems.

Mike Welch
Executive Director

Maggie Gibson
Board of Trustees President