I live next to a large park that requires a nominally priced parking pass to enter ($7) with an online portal, and it keeps the numbers somewhat managed, but it

I live next to a large park that requires a nominally priced parking pass to enter ($7) with an online portal, and it keeps the numbers somewhat managed, but it creates an overflow of people who just park on the road instead. If there are no attendants for crowd control, you get mobs. My area is now a dense forest of no-parking signs and with lists of things not to do. loitering isn't outdoorsy behavior, and what's acceptable outdoorsiness is a sensitive topic. the crux of it is a class and culture issue in how people use parks and nature. where previously it was hikers and cyclists, people who actually _moved_, many people today just want a place to sit in their cars or have tailgate parties, often on any given roadside. they're looking for social and family gathering spaces that are cheap or free, and nature is incidental and not primary for that. the article concludes with: > Fees for permits are frowned upon all around. The idea is to give recreation managers enough analysis to make informed decisions. This is naive to me. Most of our parks and outdoors culture is based on assumptions about population, accessibility, culture, and demand that just aren't true anymore. What's more likely is we will need to adopt more semi-private policies that resemble tourist nature preserves elsewhere in the world.