Evaluating National Park entrance station queues: A case study in Grand Teton National Park

Abstract

In this study, two park entrance stations to the Moose-Wilson Corridor in Grand Teton National Park (GRTE) were examined. The Granite Canyon entrance station along with the proposed Moose entrance station were evaluated for queueing measures of performance in present and for future conditions. Methods of evaluation included the applications of Little's Law and simulation modeling. It was determined that a similar service rate of 25 s can be anticipated for both considered queueing stations, resulting in a capacity of 144 vehicles per hour. Both systems, were sensitive to increases of arrival and service rates greater than 100 vehicles per hour and 35 s, respectively. A minimum 47.1-meter (154 ft) distance from the downstream intersection was estimated as a conservative minimum length for the proposed Moose entrance station to avoid queue spill back. The results of this study provided information to the future planning and design of GRTE's Moose queueing station. Additionally, this study provides a guide for data collection as well as the use of queueing theory methodology to gain an understanding of a queueing setting, quantifying observations and the development and computation of data to assist in a policy decision making process. Therefore, this study presents a case where queueing theory methodology was used to generate information and emphasizes how queueing effects can be considered for policy changes in a National Park.