After hundreds of drivers violated a parking ban in the Adirondacks' High Peaks region over Labor Day weekend, the state announced new measures to reduce traffic hazards, including bringing in more officers to enforce the ban.

The regulations from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are part of a "comprehensive plan" to manage the same flood of visitors sure to hit the High Peaks over Columbus Day Weekend.

But the plan may be as hidden as the most remote parts of the Adirondacks themselves.

The USA Today Network New York asked the DEC for a copy of the management plan but found out that, according to DEC spokesman David Winchell, it's not really a plan. Nor is it written down.

"It refers to the efforts we have been making in the State Route 73 corridor since June 2018," he said in an email. That's when the state first instituted the ban to combat unsafe conditions created by parked cars and hikers crowding the roadside.

Messy parking

Advocates for the park say that, with hundreds of cars jamming roadways and the mounting pressure of year-over-year increases in visitors, the very thing people come to enjoy is in jeopardy.

The parking ban, in its second year, prohibits parking along sections of Route 73 between Keene and Lake Placid — the most popular area of the High Peaks — and is supposed to ensure the safety of motorists and hikers, as well as help curb overuse.

But Labor Day put a spotlight on the fact that state officials' efforts to enforce the ban have fallen flat, critics said.

When asked how many more officers would be present Columbus Day, Winchell said the DEC policy is not to provide specific details about officers' assignments, nor were those plans made yet.

In an Oct. 4 email, New York State Police confirmed that two troopers will be dedicated to Route 73 each day throughout the weekend and may ticket illegally parked vehicles. Calls to the Essex County Sheriff's Department were not returned.

Since the parking ban was implemented, Winchell stated law enforcement is "working together to enforce these newly enacted regulations and keep public safety a priority."

But on Labor Day weekend, the only officer that DEC Forest Ranger Scott Vanlaer saw out writing tickets was himself.

"I didn't see any other agencies as far as parking enforcement," Vanlaer said, speaking as a delegate of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State.

Vanlaer said he spent most of Sunday on Labor Day weekend writing dozens of parking tickets that carry a fine of up to $175.

Hikers treat ban as a suggestion

The number of people visiting the High Peaks has continued to rise despite the DEC's parking ban.

Volunteers counted 1,402 hikers on Saturday and Sunday during Labor Day weekend, which was an increase of more than 200 people the previous year.

DEC officials attribute the increase in part to aggressively marketing of the Adirondack Park to tourists. New York spends about $50 million a year to promote its "I Love NY" campaign to encourage travel across the state, which has benefitted local communities in the Adirondacks.

The DEC also maintains that the parking ban raises awareness about overuse and serves to dissuade people from coming to the High Peaks in favor of other destinations in the Adirondack Park.

But by 8 a.m. on Sunday during Labor Day weekend the Adirondak Loj Road in North Elba was already overrun by illegally parked cars, Vanlaer said. Even the threat of a ticket didn't stop some, he added.

Although two shuttles are available to help alleviate congestion and parking issues at trail heads — one from the Town of Keene and another from Lake Placid — they didn't stem the parade of illegally parked cars over Labor Day Weekend.

The parking problems were also not limited by the lots at the Olympic Sports Complex near the Mount Van Hoevenberg Recreational Area, which had been inaccessible in past years due to construction.

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Will there be solutions?

At one point on Labor Day weekend, 62 cars were squeezed into every corner at the Seward trail head, an area that is only supposed to handle 20 vehicles, said Willie Janeway, executive director of the conservation group Adirondack Council.

When they measured peak parking at the same location a year before the ban went into effect, there were 27 cars trying to park there.

Vanlaer sees a similar trend. He said things are as busy as ever in the High Peaks. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Vanlaer said more than 600 people had headed up Cascade Mountain before noon.

He did say that he's noticed more hikers visiting peripheral locations in the park, in part due to DEC efforts to lure visitors away from high-use areas. "But I can't say I am seeing less in the High Peaks."

In fact, even on Sept. 30, a Monday, Vanlaer said Cascade Mountain was "slamming." The day before, he wrote 62 tickets for illegally parked vehicles.

As far as the parking ban, Vanlaer said that when law enforcement is not physically there, it's largely ignored by drivers, which raises questions about the ban's effectiveness to ensure safety or educate the public about overuse.

The solution for both, according to advocates like Janeway, is a comprehensive plan to manage the park, something raised in a DEC meeting with stakeholders in July that included a pilot permitting system to restrict the number of hikers descending on the High Peaks.

DEC offers help

In mid-September, the DEC started sending out news releases saying it is preparing for the Columbus Day weekend rush.

“Working closely with our on-the-ground local partners and key stakeholders in the Adirondacks, DEC continues to protect public safety and manage use during the one of the busiest hiking and traffic periods of the year,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement.

The state said it will be posting temporary, 45 mile per hour advisory speed on the following roads:

State Route 73 on either side of the Roaring Brook Falls Trailhead in the town of Keene, Essex County;

State Route 73 on either side of the Cascade Mountain and Pitchoff Mountain Trailheads in the towns of North Elba and Keene, Essex County; and

State Route 3 on either side of the Ampersand Mountain Trailhead in the town of Harrietstown in Franklin County.

The DEC said it is also adding electronic messaging boards and other signs to warn of temporary lower speed limits and to alert hikers walking along state highways.

DEC said hikers should also consider alternative routes to traverse.

Those trails include:

Rocky Peak Ridge and Owl Head Lookout in the Giant Mountain Wilderness;

The Whiteface Landing Trail in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness; Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, Catamount Mountain, and Silver Lake Mountain in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest;

Little Crow and Big Crow mountains in the Hurricane Mountain Wilderness;

Bear Den Mountain in the Whiteface Mountain Intensive Use Area; Copperas and Owen Ponds in the Sentinel Range Wilderness; Cobble Lookout in the Wilmington Wild Forest; and Brewster Peninsula Nature Trails in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest.

Hikers can also visit Hike Smart NY to get additional tips.

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Contact Ryan Mercer at rmercer@freepressmedia.com or at 802-343-4169. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmercer1 and facebook.com/ryan.mercer1.