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Transportation programs in the Lake Tahoe Basin strive
to improve the use and effectiveness of all modes of transportation.
An efficient and accessible transportation system includes
roadways, bicycle and pedestrian paths, and transit opportunities.
All modes are critical components to a successful transportation
system and desired visitation at a resort community. Transportation
programs that ease traffic congestion and provide convenient
public transit facilities help create a positive visit
to Lake Tahoe. Visitors are a benefit to the Basin´s
economy and help provide jobs for both residents and those
commuting to the Basin for work. An enjoyable experience
for a visitor, including relatively free traffic flow
and user friendly information about the transportation
system, is an attribute to the Lake Tahoe community.
Population growth in the Lake Tahoe Basin is relatively
low in comparison to other urban areas in California
and Nevada; yet, because of it´s close proximity
to many major urban centers including Sacramento, San
Francisco and Reno, the overall population in the Basin
at any given time or event can be much higher and is directly
related to the number of visitors coming to the Basin.
Transportation programs strive to balance the greater
impacts to natural and built resources that are associated
with a greater number of visitors. In Lake Tahoe, built
resources include roadway systems with approximately 90%
of visitors driving to Lake Tahoe in private vehicles.
The increase in visitors adds to an increase in traffic
congestion, which translates to other roadway impacts,
such as additional vehicle miles traveled, increased air
pollution, and what is being learned through scientific
research – a degradation in Water Quality Standards.
The Lake Tahoe Basin transportation system affects air
quality, water quality, scenic resources, and recreation
opportunities. Airborne materials, such as road dust and
vehicle exhaust, have a high impact on Lake Tahoe air
quality due to down slope drainage winds and inversions
that hold air pollutants close to the Lake´s surface.
These issues demonstrate the need for a continued collaboration
between air quality and transportation decisions.
There are many elements to the Lake Tahoe transportation
system including traffic engineering, traffic systems
management, traffic signal design, multi-modal transportation
planning, transit planning and operations, parking analysis
and parking feasibility reports, parking facility design,
traffic impact studies, access planning and design, and
bicycle/pedestrian circulation. Lake Tahoe Basin transportation
plans and projects must comply with federal, state, and
local standards including strict guidelines or requirements
imposed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Compact
and Goals and Policies, the California Transportation
Commission Checklist, and various chapters of the Code
of Federal Regulations from the Federal Highway Administration.
Lake Tahoe is progressive in the transit systems provided,
by each reducing the impacts of private automobile travel,
including the Tahoe Area Regional Transit (TART) system;
Tahoe Trolley; Truckee Trolley; South Tahoe Area Ground
Express (STAGE) system; Nifty Fifty Trolley; Blue Go;
Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley,
Ski Incline and Northstar ski shuttles; and Tahoe Casino
Express.
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In planning for both existing and future conditions,
transportation program efforts must meet the needs of
a variety of system users (businesses, residents, disabled,
and visitors). A long-range plan is required that will
maintain environmental threshold carrying capacities,
look realistically at the impact of growth in major
population centers surrounding the Lake Tahoe Basin,
and ultimately support the economic vitality of the
Basin. Two TRPA threshold indicators, under the Air
Quality and Transportation Programs, are reviewed for
the long-range plan; Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and
Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels, both of which increase
with additional vehicles on the roadways.
The reduction of VMT as a threshold indicator was based
on estimated traffic counts taken at the Tahoe Basin
in 1981. The national average for growth in VMT has
been shown to directly relate to population increases.
The population at the Basin has increased at a much
slower rate than surrounding areas, and a 3% increase
in VMT over the past 20 years generally corresponds
with the population growth rate at the Basin. While
there has been minimal growth in VMT, a reduction in
vehicle miles traveled is still required to obtain compliance
with the current threshold indicator. Lake Tahoe Basin
transportation programs strive to achieve a reduction
in VMT and create incentives for visitors and residents
to utilize public transit opportunities.
The threshold indicator for CO is aimed at reducing
carbon monoxide emissions thus helping to maintain health-based,
air quality standards. These standards are currently
being met, as air quality standards remain within adopted
ranges. However, acceptable air quality and water quality
levels are also found to be directly related to lake
clarity, and therefore must be considered in any transportation
planning effort. Increases in VMT and the CO Indicator,
and the overall increase in visitors to the Basin impacts
all of the environmental thresholds in one way or another,
with air and water quality receiving the highest impacts
from vehicles using Basin roadways.
TRPA
Air Quality Indicators from Draft 2001 Threshold Evaluation
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Scientific research conducted by organizations, agencies,
and universities aims to detect sources of pollution
and discover ways to monitor and ultimately eliminate
their impacts. Ongoing research efforts collecting baseline
data will help regulatory agencies establish regulations
and develop limits and indicators designed to improve
environmental health.
Lake Tahoe transportation issues are addressed by a
complex mix of planners and program implementers. Projects
that increase mobility by the implementation of various
travel options aimed at increasing recreational access,
water-born transit, inter-regional access, around the
lake-bus service, intelligent transportation systems,
additional bicycle lanes, incentives for car and vanpools,
and the development of transit-oriented communities
are favored. These and many other objectives defined
through the transportation planning process are the
responsibility of the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization
(TMPO). On January 1, 1999, the United States Congress
designated the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as a Metropolitan
Planning Organization and created the TMPO.
The TMPO is responsible for completing Lake Tahoe Regional
transportation plans for transportation projects. These
projects may include: the construction of roads and
parking lots, development of scenic view points, and
designate areas for snow storage; the purchasing and
operations of transit systems; and completion of bicycle
and pedestrian facilities. Active agencies that implement
these types of projects include the Nevada and California
Departments of Transportation, Douglas, Washoe, and
Placer Counties and the U.S. Forest Service. The TMPO
works with these and many other private, local, state,
federal, and tribal organizations to obtain comments
and contributions for the development of Basin transportation
plans and programs.
Different travel options are some of the many ways
to help accomplish a reduction in vehicle miles traveled.
There are still additional measures that need to be
explored and tested as the Lake Tahoe Basin moves into
the 21st Century. Building transportation improvements
that achieve environmental and mobility goals, and continue
to preserve Lake Tahoe's crystal blue waters are the
primary objectives in achieving the goal of a successful
transportation system.
It takes working together with many agencies and interested
parties to develop a transportation system that will
help preserve Lake Tahoe and continue the coordination
and cooperation with the Federal, State, and Local entities,
Washoe Tribe, interested citizens, and non-English speaking
community, is a must for getting this work done.
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