The State - News from May 28, 1986

Rangers got by without imposing traffic restrictions in Yosemite National Park during the crowded Memorial Day weekend by taking less drastic measures to control the flow of vehicles. The National Park Service intended to block access by private cars to the east end of the valley if more than 4,600 cars entered the park any day last weekend, park spokeswoman Mallory Smith said. Roads were busiest Sunday afternoon, when the number of vehicles went slightly above the ceiling, but rangers avoided formal restrictions by directing traffic at the most crowded intersections, Smith said. Rangers counted 51,971 visitors during the three-day holiday compared to 60,030 on the same weekend in 1984, when a traffic jam forced an ambulance to drive on a bicycle path. The untested traffic control policy grew out of that incident.