“We report – You decide” … good day everyone !! For years, I’ve been posting info and updates at my other page for the Grove of Titans. That’s also were chaff was separated from substance in regard to news stories about fund raising for this Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park grove.

The past few years, park officials or HSU sources were quoted saying vegetation area was lost equal to about seven basketball courts (Statesman Journal / Zach Urness). So it was a surprise to see 2000 to 3000 sq. ft. of vegetation removed along Howland Hill Rd. for several deluxe outhouse toilets. One near Mill Creek trailhead which leads to the Grove of Titans redwood grove, and also by the Boy Scout Tree trailhead parking. These measure about 30′ x 45′ and 30′ x 30′. That’s loss of vegetation area over 1/2 basketball court or 2200 sq. ft. above and beyond the loss of plants used to leverage donations. Some people anticipated some loss of vegetation for parking,  but the surprise was how much for so little.

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And let me interject if you notice the handicap signs. One, ain’t nobody going to wheelchair to the grove of titans, and there is handicap parking at another existing restroom by Stout Grove. Additional, last autumn, I was dining in Crescent City, and someone else who was able to go hiking and bushwhacking all day, pulled into a handicap stall at the Seaquake. They had a permit. So I weigh the worth of handicap spots differently. Given other parking and restrooms already within the park, plus facilities just minutes outside the park, let me leave that thought with readers.

I encourage folks to review my other page about the Grove of Titans redwoods including the note about the loss of an experience there. No rail,  boardwalk, directional sign or path can return the pristine experience various people could enjoy 10 years ago when the grove had a 99% pristine look. Every new preventative component can’t bring that back.

Now back to Howland Hill Road. For decades, the old road provided a continuous several mile stretch of virtually nothing except pristine old growth forest, aside from the metal gate added mid-way a few years ago. But even the rustic split rail wood near Boy Scout tree trail parking blended and fit the experience.  But now there’s these toilet outhouses with adjacent bare swaths for parking.

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The driving experience and aesthetics have changed. Just a couple increments of change, but the increments are there.

The last day of November, 2019, I met two local men, walking a dog, who use the road continuously. They said that some of the news they had read about Grove of Titans and Howland Hill Rd., mentioned something like traffic “gridlock” in summer on account of that grove and curiosity seekers. These men said their observations are that momentary pauses in summer traffic were seasonal routine and not really tied to the Grove of Titans.

So now here’s a question … will these new bathrooms  trigger real traffic blocks and gridlock? In the past, a few people would park off to the side to use the trailhead for hiking. And if the shoulder was taken there, they would drive another 300 feet and park. Just the people who would be hiking from that one spot and not drivers looking to “pinch a loaf” or take a leak.

Now people who may have no need to hike starting from these exact spots, may park and block or narrow the road. How much? Time will tell. I suspect the new toilets will reduce the use of the bathrooms at Stout Grove parking, but probably by just a fraction. Otherwise, these new structures look like potential sites to bottle neck traffic.

The new bathrooms and boardwalks 15 minutes away from the road won’t put a dent in real parking needs. So quite a few regular hikers are curious if more parking lots or turnouts will be developed, and if more plants will be removed. What may be essential, seems very different from the sales pitch that was used to pull donation money from people.