Shenandoah National Park plans could mitigate Front Royal traffic issues

FRONT ROYAL — Shenandoah National Park (SNP) is planning a new Front Royal entrance station, SNP Superintendent Jennifer Flynn told Town Council members last night during a regular meeting.

“It’s still years in the making but we’re in the scoping point right now,” Flynn said in a more than 30-minute report on SNP to the council.

SNP staff currently are looking at how such an entrance should increase safety for staff, mitigate the traffic impact the park has on the Front Royal community, and how to better expedite travelers through the area, she said.

Front Royal Interim Mayor Matthew Tederick told Flynn that he recently met with Front Royal Police Chief Kahle Magalis “to try and figure out what we could do to help traffic flow more smoothly during the fall season.”

“I think this gate improvement might help,” Tederick said.

In the meantime, the mayor told Flynn that if she has a suggestion or creative solution to offer, to please do so.

“I know having grown up here, it’s a blessing and a curse,” said Tederick. “On a beautiful Saturday, citizens can’t get around our community very well.” He added that Chief Magalis is working diligently on his end to find improvements to the traffic flow.

“We are absolutely aware of the impact it has,” Flynn responded, saying the Front Royal and Thornton Gap entrance stations have the worst traffic backups. “We appreciate that it’s an ongoing issue and we welcome having this conversation.”

In another matter, Tederick also said he met last week with Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley and asked about the property going south on Route 340 to the right of the intersection at 340 and Criser Road.

“It’s my understanding that that’s park property, across from 7/11,” he said.

Flynn said that, yes, it is park property that serves as a buffer zone.

“I inquired if something could be done as it relates to the County purchasing that property or the Town purchasing it, or possibly a joint purchase,” said Tederick.

Flynn told him that SNP doesn’t have plans for expansion there.

“We generally cannot sell our land, but we can consider a land swap,” she said. “If the Town and County wanted to make a proposal to the park about swapping something that is contiguous with the park somewhere else, that is certainly something we could consider. But we cannot sell a federal asset.”

Flynn noted that SNP has “a few odd boundary issues” similar to this property in other Front Royal and Warren County areas.

“I’m very interested in trying to clean that up but I’m not quite sure what opportunities are open to us,” said Flynn. “We would need a proposal to respond to.”

Among numerous items cited in her report, Flynn told Town Council members that Delaware North Companies Inc., which runs SNP’s concession facilities via a contract with the federal government, recently put a new roof on Big Meadows Lodge and is completing a restoration of the Big Meadows Wayside that started in November 2018.

“The Wayside restoration is not fully back up and running. We expect that to happen in the middle of August,” she said.

What visitors can expect is a reconfigured interior space at the Wayside, where what Flynn called “a functional switch” has taken place, flipping the dining and shopping areas to allow diners a meadows view from larger windows. The retail and grocery store are relocating to the parking lot side of the building.

At the same time, the kitchen is getting updated and internal operations are transitioning from a full-service restaurant to fast-casual dining.

Flynn also noted that while SNP is doing “pretty well” financially, the government shutdown from Dec. 22, 2018 through Jan. 25 was impactful despite happening at a period of low visitation for the park.

She said the federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, did delay SNP’s crucial hiring and planning processes.

And there was some misuse of the park due to there being limited staff at that time, added Flynn.

“However, for every person who disrespected the park, it seemed there were three who tried to lessen the damage,” Flynn said. “The many acts of kindness and excellent stewardship exhibited by so many of our visitors reinforced for me how much people care about Shenandoah. I’m humbled by the generous spirit in which park staff are supported.”

The Royal Examiner’s camera was there – Watch the Town Council meeting and the SNP presentation.