Regional transportation issues will be focus of November workshops

By Jeff Cowen
The Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization will host two workshops November 1 and 3 to get public input on transportation priorities. The workshops are part of a four-year update of the Regional Transportation Plan (Mobility 2035) being carried out by TMPO and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The agencies encourage public input to better serve the needs of the community, according to TRPA Transportation Planning Manager Nick Haven.

Mobility 2035 will serve two roles—it will meet federal and state requirements for long-range transportation planning, and it will inform the Transportation Element of the TRPA Regional Plan. The vision, goals and policies for transportation embodied in the Regional Transportation Plan will be fully integrated into the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan Update that is scheduled for completion at the end of 2012.

The open houses/workshops are from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a brief presentation beginning at 6 p.m.:

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - North Tahoe Event Center, 8313 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach, CA.
Thursday, November 3, 2011 - Inn by the Lake, 3300 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA.

“We hope for an engaged community dialogue focused on the transportation system and its value toward creating sustainable communities in which locals and visitors can live, work, and play.” Haven said. “There are a variety of choices available but the solutions must be community driven and supported.”
Topics covered during the evening will include Complete Streets, investment priorities, compact development, traffic delay, bike trails and transit. Participants will also learn about current projects such as transit shelters and the Nevada Stateline to Stateline Bikeway.

The open houses/workshops will include:
— Activity-based stations
— Brief presentation
— Interactive computer technology to highlight and document your transportation priorities
— Spanish language materials and speakers
— Childcare and kids’ activities
— Refreshments and raffle

Since the previous Lake Tahoe Regional Transportation Plan, Mobility 2030 adopted in 2008, many important transportation accomplishments were made possible.

Some of those projects include:
— US Hwy 50 Water Quality Improvements and Bike Lanes
— State Route 28 Water Quality Improvements and Bike Lanes
— Sawmill Bike Path Phase I (South Shore)
— Lakeside Trail Phases I – IV (North Shore)
— Transit shelters (North and South)
— Transit service expansions to Reno, Carson City, Minden/Gardnerville
— New Alternative Fuel Transit vehicles
In addition to the November TMPO workshops, there are other meetings planned to help improve transportation to meet community needs this fall. The TMPO workshops focus on transportation planning at a region-wide level, while planned local meetings request input at a project-specific level. Two workshops coming up on the North Shore include a transit needs workshop, and a workshop on a neighborhood traffic management plan in Kings Beach.

For more information on the Regional Transportation Plan, and on other public input opportunities related to transportation, visit to www.tahoempo.org. For additional information, call (775) 589-5278 or email to jcowen@trpa.org.

— Writer Jeff Cowen is the Community Liaison for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.