Gulf Islands Seashore Proposes Solution to Traffic Problem

Many commuters use the Gulf Islands National Park as a shortcut to Highway 90, but the high volume of traffic has become a safety concern for the bikers and runners who also use the park.

For the hundreds of drivers, bikers, and runners who use Gulf Islands National Seashore each day, the park service finally has an answer for traffic concerns on its main road. Daniel Brown, Superintendent of Gulf Islands National Seashore, says, “A multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail and or a bicycle pedestrian lane along park road, and in fact, those are two of the concepts that we’re looking into. We’re also looking into things like traffic calmings.”

Park officials’ main concern with commuters using Gulf Islands Park as a cut through is safety. They’ve clocked cars going almost 60 mph and there are just a few inches of room for bikers and runners between the end of the road and the dirt. Brown also says, “We’ve had a number, well dozens and dozens of near misses, and we know that we do have to address that safety issue.”

While the final decision has not yet been made, park leaders believe a bike/pedestrian trail is the best compromise. They plan to pay for the project with BP oil spill money. Troy Ross says, Jackson County Supervisor, District 4, says, “The county has taken an approach that we’re going to send a letter in support of their pathway to gain BP funding. Hopefully they’ll get that funding, they’ll be able to increase the safety for the bicyclists and the pedestrians in the park, and VFW Road will remain open.”

This is good news for commuters who use VFW Road as a cut through. Jackson County Supervisor for District 5, John McKay, believes this project is a step in the right direction for the park. McKay says, “It could be used a lot more. A lot of the activities have been curtailed since because they said they don’t have enough money to cut the grass, such as the ball field we talked about that’s been grown up and you can’t use it.”

Park leaders plan to send letters of support for the project from county and city officials to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for approval. County officials expect the project may be complete in about two years.