Letters: Tahoe road investment for safety of all

To our South Lake Tahoe community,

Investment in South Lake Tahoe roads is a matter of safety. A proactive plan for financing maintenance of City roads, Measure C is vital to our community.

With winter fast approaching, I am reminded of the pothole nearly half the length of my car that showed up overnight on a stretch of road last January. This behemoth, car-destroying, hole in the road resulted from winter weather and insufficient road maintenance. The lineup of cars awaiting repairs at our local auto body shops through the month of August is a strong reminder of how costly poor road maintenance is—costly in terms of our safety and our pocketbooks.

While opponents of Measure C point to its shortcomings, I argue; Let’s not let the quest for something better be the downfall of something good. Measure C brings tourist and visitor funding for road maintenance into play, in concert with locally-sourced funds.

By law, the funds generated by Measure C would be strictly limited to repairing our community’s roads. Citizens’ oversight, regular audits and an independent Roads Management Authority ensure that this money will stay in our community and go towards fixing our neglected roads. For the safety of our community’s children, and of everyone who uses our roads, sidewalks and intersections, I hope you will vote YES on C to fix South Lake Tahoe’s roads.

- Michelle Sweeney