Attractive nuisance
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center remodel project on Race Street is nearing completion.
The two-year project made several much-needed improvements to the aging visitor center that will no doubt improve the visitor experience.
However, as a resident of the Mt. Angeles neighborhood, I have to ask this question of the Park Service about the location and accessibility of the grandiose welcome sign at the base of the hill: “What the heck were you thinking?”
The sign qualifies as an “attractive nuisance” based on the number of people I have witnessed parking illegally along Race Street and proceeding to take selfies or group shots while climbing all over and around the sign.
Now the Park Service is apparently trying to solve the problem by creating ingress/egress points beside the sign, as if to say, “please pull in here, climb on our sign, and create further slowdowns and safety hazards for an already-crowded intersection.”
This is disrespectful of the Park Service image, irritating to local commuters and less safe for all.
Does everything require “drive-up” accessibility?
Tom Swanson,
Port Angeles