Seeing the Grand Canyon will soon cost more than seeing a Broadway show, if the Department of the Interior gets its way.The proposed rule would more than double the price of admission at 17 parks across the country during peak visiting season. And they’re only giving the public a month to comment on the proposal, which is the shortest allowable comment period allowed by law.The price would jump to $70 per vehicle, $50 per motorcycle, and $30 per person, a huge jump — at the Grand Canyon, for example, it currently costs $30 to bring a car in, $25 for a motorcycle, and $15 to enter on foot or bike.The National Parks System is looking at a maintenance backlog of over $11 billion, and they say they hope the increased fee will allow them plow through the work that they’ve been holding off doing due to the deficit.“Targeted fee increases at some of our most-visited parks will help ensure that they are protected and preserved in perpetuity and that visitors enjoy a world-class experience that mirrors the amazing destinations they are visiting,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in a statement.President Donald Trump’s proposed budget certainly won’t be chipping in to ease the burden on the public — it aims to cut Department of Interior funding by 12 percent.Parks advocates spoke out against the proposal, criticizing the move as excluding Americans from America’s parks. “We should not increase fees to such a degree as to make these places – protected for all Americans to experience – unaffordable for some families to visit,” said Theresa Pierno, head of the National Parks Conservation Association, which lobbies for park interets. “The solution to our parks’ repair needs cannot and should not be largely shouldered by its visitors.”For regular park goers, however, there’s a silver lining — the price of annual passes is set to stay the same, at $80.
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