Here is the tally for the month of December for the access to Hurricane Ridge complementing other recreation:

5 days were open from 9 to dusk as scheduled.
3 out of 18 scheduled days were closed all day
6 out of 18 days opened late (not counting one day at 9:07) Average late opening was 10:30
4 out of 18 closed early due to weather
2 days of full parking
15 of 31 days were closed.
 
The Park will say that the road was closed 17% (3/18) of the time, better than historical averages.
By the standards of any other road system the road was open 95.5 hours out of 744 hours in the month, or 13%.
In January there are 13 scheduled open days.

Contrast this:

I firmly believe the park will not be successful unless the communities around it are successful," new ONP superintendent Sarah Creachbaum said. "Make those relationships before you need those relationships." "When you work with anybody whose experiences are different than yours, it behooves you to shut up and listen for a while."
 

With this:

 

“Given the current park budget and weekend popularity of Hurricane Ridge, providing visitor access on the three busiest days of the week makes good sense and complements the variety of other recreational opportunities that Olympic National Park and the Olympic Peninsula offer.” -ONP response to “Why does it cost so much?”

This decision was made by a handful of senior ONP staff, none of whom have been at ONP for more than five years. In contrast, the City of Port Angeles, Clallam County Commissioners, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, Port Angeles Business Association, Port Angeles Downtown Association, Sequim Chamber of Commerce, Peninsula Bed and Breakfast Association, as well as many individuals all are on record supporting EVERY DAY access to Hurricane Ridge, and believe strongly enough to donate money to make it happen. Who has more credibility in determining what “complements the variety of other recreational opportunities that the Olympic Peninsula offer?

 

Another important distiction is that through a series of land use decisions including the 1984 creation of the Buckhorn Wilderness there is no other viable access to winter recreation on the Olympic Peninsula.  The 1984 Buckhorn designation was created while the road to Hurricane Ridge was open seven days a week and there was no reason to think that would change. 

Thank you for the chance to provide correct information about access to Hurricane Ridge.

From the November press release:“Keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open daily through the winter is a very different task than providing daily access to the park's low elevation roads, and is significantly more costly and difficult,” Suess said.  However, this new explanation indicates that they spend just as much money for these other places, probably more.  The road crew costs for three guys working 40 hours per week would be the same.  The law enforcement costs are greater because each place has its own staff.  Lake Crescent/Sol Duc has three, Elwha two or more, and Staircase two.  The additional costs for sand is slightly more but relatively insignificant.  Fuel may be more, but doubtful due to the cost just to get to Sol Duc and Staircase.  Fuel also is a relatively small portion of the cost.

1.  "The full time crew's normal work day is 5 am to 3:30 pm." The road does not open until the crew is essentially done for the day.  The exception is that occasionally, the plow/sand truck will make a second pass in the afternoon.  Compare that to any other winter road operation, where the crews plow as needed during storms while the road remains open to public vehicles.

During the seven day trail period, on average it took three hours to clear the road each day, which would be 21 hours in an average week.  Even the extreme weeks were less than 40 hours per week.

2.  "Three employees maintain Camp David Jr and East Beach, Olympic HS and Whiskey Bend, and Sol Duc."  CDJ and EB roads are shared with the county.  I am pretty familiar with East Beach Road, and I would be surprised if the Park spends ten days a year on it.  The County plows it when it snows.  PUD clears trees after windstorms.  Olympic HS road closes at variable gates depending on snowfall.  It is not plowed.  I have never seen Whiskey Bend plowed.  Sol Duc is closed to the public whenever it snows.  If they clear one lane, why not both and keep it open?  Also the GMP states that Sol Duc should close in the winter.
In 2012 there were 7,337 Jan-March vehicles on Hurricane Ridge.  The other areas that the park is busy maintianing were 52 at Staircase; 4,661 at Elwha; 750 at Sol Duc; and 5,874 at East Beach. Yet,
"We cannot justify taxpayer money to maintain weekday winter access to Hurricane Ridge Road for a relatively small number of people.”
3.  "In keeping with National Park Service standards for safety..."  What are those standards?  Why are they different for Hurricane Ridge than Lake Crescent, for example?  Why are they different than ONF and/or other National Forest and Park areas that do maintain access?

Normal operations at Stevens Pass 12/7/12

Second Plow at Stevens

Rotary Plow at Stevens 12/7/12