Three Rivers to get public bathroom with museum expansion
June 11,2018
Three Rivers has a little over 2,000 residents. But some 2 million visitors pass through the gateway town every year to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Meanwhile residents have been wishing for some solution to a uncomfortable fact, there just is no public bathroom in town.Then there is the question – if one was built, where would it be?
This week the Tulare County Board of Supervisors appears to have heard the call and has identified a site hosted by the popular Three Rivers Museum society as a logical location to build a public bathroom.
Three Rivers has a rich history as a utopian colony as far back as the 1880s. Sequoia Park itself opened to the public in 1890, a half day buggy ride from Visalia back then. Today it still takes an hour to get into the park and a public rest room.
Since the town is without a visitor center the Three Rivers Historical Society at 42268 Sierra Drive, (Hwy 198) serves as the gathering place for those looking for info, greeting thousands of tourists annually.
The Museum served more than 5,600 visitors in 2015. Visitor counts doubled to 12,700 in 2017. Based on attendance records to date, Museum officials expect to set another attendance record in 2018.
Besides drop-in visitors, the popular Sequoia Shuttle also drives traffic to the Three Rivers Museum. Now in its 12th season, the Shuttle picks up visitors who have reservations at 12 different locations and transports them to Sequoia National Park.
According to the City of Visalia Transit Sequoia Shuttle Report, in 2017 alone 13 percent of the overall ridership boarded the Shuttle at the Three Rivers Historical Museum. Average daily ridership in 2017 was 120 riders.
A restroom at this location would serve not only the riders boarding at this location, but all travelers aboard the Sequoia Shuttle with trip origins beginning in Visalia and beyond.
Staffed by volunteers the plan is to raise enough money to build a new museum expansion including constructing a new barn and gallery area suitable for community gatherings and history- oriented events. This would happen after it completes a new rest room funded by the county, to the tune of $250,000.
This facility will potentially increase visitors to the Museum who will visit its gift shop and learn more about Three Rivers and local points of interest.
The Museum is open daily from 9am-4pm from October to March, and 9am-5pm from April to September. It is closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. It is anticipated the restrooms will be open during Museum hours.
The Museum Society has engaged an architect to design its two-part expansion. Phase 1 would enable construction of public restrooms. This phase is prioritized because the restrooms can be built and put into service while the Society continues to fundraise additional needed capital to finish its exhibit space (Phase 2).
This week the BOS approved the request. Construction is expected to start late in 2018 and open by next year’s summer season.