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MONTICELLO VISITORS CENTER AND SMITH HISTORY CENTER
PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN — PARKING JUSTIFICATION
Summary
The determination of the proper number of parking spaces for this new facility was based
on historical data, projections by Thomas Jefferson Foundation staff of the impact of new
facilities on future visitation, and on a traffic study conducted by the engineering firm of
Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP. Moreover, the Foundation staff and its design team
decided early in the site planning process that the historically and aesthetically sensitive
nature of the site dictated a conservative approach. All new facilities on this site,
including parking, had to be constrained in size to meet the needs of an average busy day,
not peak demand. This resulted in the following parking counts:
Staff/Service parking:
Visitor car parking:
Tour bus/ camper parking:
Shuttle bus parking
Historical Data
Current Planned
46 63 (includes handicap)
325 358 (includes handicap)
20 21
6 6
Monticello has been open to public visitation since 1924. The Thomas Jefferson
Foundation has kept records of annual visitation over that eighty -year period and has
recorded daily visitation for more than twenty years. Monticello's annual visitation
climbed at a modest rate until the 1960's, when it started to experience double-digit
growth It was then that the Foundation first started planning for a new visitors center
and additional parking.
Up until 1971, all visitors to Monticello parked in lots on the top of the mountain: in the
garden, along Mulberry Row, and very near the house. In anticipation of a significant
surge of visitors around the time of the country's bicentennial, the Foundation cleared
and paved a three -acre section of the property just off the entrance road, half a mile
distant and two hundred feet below the house and gardens. This new lot included an
open shelter where visitors could wait to be shuttled up the mountain in tractor -drawn
trams. As the result of a subsequent decision to restore the mountaintop, the lower lot
was expanded to its current size, the shelter was expanded to include a ticket office, and
the upper lots were removed.
Though 1976 turned out to be the high-water mark of Monticello visitation (650,000),
average annual visitation remained above the 500,000 level until 2002. Consistent with
national trends in historic -site tourism, Monticello's annual visitation has recently tapered
off to about 475,000. This trend is seen in the degree and frequency of peak days. The
highest daily visitation on record was 3,851 on Memorial Day Sunday in 1993, the year
Monticello celebrated Jefferson's 250`h birthday. However, visitation has not surpassed
3,000 visitors/day since 2003, and the "average busy" day is closer to 2,500 visitors.
TIF Staff Projections
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a goal of bringing visitation back up to 550,000,
but it intends to do that under a reserved -ticket system that will cap daily visitation at
3,200. The Foundation recognizes that new visitor facilities and amenities may attract
additional visitors for the first year or two, but it also understands that no one visits a
historic site because of its visitors center. The hope is that by providing increased shelter
and convenience, the center will improve'visitation on bad -weather days or in the off
season. The Foundation does not expect the "average busy" visitation to ever exceed
2,800 visitors per day.
As in the past, there will be days when more cars or busses arrive than can be
accommodated in the new lot. The Foundation's contingency plan is to relocate staff
parking to fields around the mountain and, as it does now for special events, to park cars
on the large field in front of the Foundation's executive residence.
Traffic Studv
A traffic and parking analysis was conducted in the spring of 2004 by RKK Engineering
and submitted to the County as part of the Monticello Historic District zoning
application. This study concluded that "no impacts on traffic operations resulting from
the completion of the programmed improvements to the Visitors Center and
Administrative Campus sites are anticipated. " It goes on to say that "a Visitors Center
parking lot containing 400 spaces for automobiles will adequately accommodate the
parking demand on a day with 3,200 ticket sales. " The analysis showed that a 3,200
visitor day would likely result in a peak demand of 369 vehicles, including buses.
The RKK report states that a 3,200-visitor day will likely result in only 32 buses on site
during a day. The current lot accommodates 20 buses and an overflow lot has been know
to hold an additional five buses. Monticello has accommodated as many as 60 buses in a
day with this parking capacity. The anticipated 32 buses, easily achievable with a group
tour reservation system, will be adequately accommodated by the 18 bus slots shown on
this preliminary site plan. Experience has shown that car traffic is greatly reduced on
days of heavy bus traffic. In the event of excessive bus traffic, car lots can be adapted to
handle the overflow.
mbm — 8-4-05