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Free shuttle service at Garden of the Gods this summer

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs is trying out free public shuttles this summer in an effort to ease congestion at the park.
Credit: Bobbi Sheldon, KUSA

Colorado Springs — A major tourist attraction in Colorado Springs is taking steps to deal with overcrowding during peak summer months.

Garden of the Gods park will try out a free shuttle pilot program designed to enhance visitor experience while alleviating traffic and parking concerns.

A shuttle fleet of two 14-passenger vans will take visitors on a three-stop loop that will take about 30 minutes to complete.

“Launching the shuttle system this summer is part of our incremental approach to apply small-scale pilot programs to gauge impact and measure feedback on utilization patterns,” Kim King, parks and recreation manager, said in a release.

The shuttle service will be offered for about 90 days between May and September – a time where the park sees the most visitors.

The City of Colorado Springs says shuttles will depart every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Shuttles will start at the Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, travel to the Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center, and end at the intersection of Gateway Road and Juniper Way Loop – which connects to a trail in the Central Garden zone.

To accommodate parking for shuttle users, a temporary parking lot with the capacity to hold 400 vehicles will be built near 30th Street and Gateway Drive at Rock Ledge Ranch.

The new shuttle service is in response to a transportation study conducted last year by outside company Volpe National Transportation Systems Center looking at traffic, parking, attendance and visitor experiences within the park.

Shuttles will be managed and operated by Adventures Out West, and funded by the Garden of the Gods Foundation.

Garden of the Gods is famous for its stunning red rock formations and views of Pikes Peak. An estimated 5.8 million people visited the park in 2017, according the City of Colorado Springs.

Those who take the shuttle can participate in a survey to share their feedback.

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