Managing sustainable mobility in natural areas: the case of South Tyrol (Italy)

Conventional transportation management in protected areas is essentially 'demand-driven'. In this approach, transportation management responds to current and projected visitation with facilities and services designed and operated according to demand. This means that if demand exceeds supply, then facilities and services are expanded. The demand-driven approach is designed to maximize efficiency and enhance the convenience of travel to and within national parks. This chapter describes two programs of research conducted in the US national parks, Rocky Mountain National Park and Denali National Park and Preserve, to illustrate the shift from conventional, demand-driven transportation management to a more sustainable approach to transportation management. The objective of the study was to examine potential relationships between traffic volume and patterns and wildlife behaviour. The primary objective of conventional utility transportation is efficient point-to-point travel, while the primary objective of transportation management in a national park is to protect park resources and provide a high quality visitor experience