Officials at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area seek comments from the public on a plan to increase the price of annual park passes to $35 from $25, The price of daily passes would remain the same at $3, officials said in a press release.
“Our mission is to provide recreational opportunities for urban residents,” Superintendent Bill Cox said in the release. “We realize that many of our visitors come here to experience a national park for the first time. Many prefer to pay for one visit at a time. For these visitors, the one-day cost will remain at $3, as it has been since 2005.
“Our annual pass will go up to $35 to help us maintain services in danger of being cut by budget reductions, such as the BacteriAlert system, and build more visitor amenities such as restrooms at popular sites such as Sope Creek.”
In the federal fiscal year the ended Sept. 30, the park collected approximately $627,000 in fees, according to the release. The park expects to raise an additional $120,000 per year through the proposed annual fee increase.
To comment on the proposed annual fee increase, send an email to chat_fees@nps.gov. There will also be a public open house at park’s Sandy Springs headquarters on Dec. 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. The headquarters is at 1978 Island Ford Parkway.
The comment period is open until Dec. 6.