Letter: Agencies alert public on what they're doing to alleviate traffic leaving South Lake Tahoe

The following is a letter created by the four agencies currently working together to try and find a solution to the traffic problem in Meyers as visitors exit Lake Tahoe after a weekend. A public meeting was held on Friday night and that story will be carried on Saturday.

To whom it may concern: As we are all aware, an increasing influx of visitors and new residents to South Lake Tahoe over the last several years has resulted in very high volumes of traffic in and around the area. Significant travel delays on US-50 between the Tahoe Basin, Echo Summit and Ice House Road have steadily increased and caused massive delays on the highway. As a result, many drivers resort to using neighborhood roads in an attempt to avoid the traffic backup on Highway 50. These drivers often use mobile phone applications such as WAZE and Google Maps in hopes of avoiding the backups. The map apps route drivers through residential areas, which has done little to reduce congestion on the highways and has caused considerable congestions on residential roads, concerning local residents who feel “locked in” and unable to leave their homes for errands or pleasure and worry about how they may be able to get through the hours-long traffic jams in an emergency situation. The situation is particularly compounded on the Monday of holiday weekends as visitors leave South Lake Tahoe for their primary residence and is further exacerbated in the event of bad weather, chain controls, accidents, and avalanche controls.

There has been considerable public and private conversation about how to address the congestion on the highway and prevent local roads from backing up. Local residents are frustrated and unsatisfied that the problem hasn’t been “solved.” This joint letter serves to clearly explain the steps El Dorado County, California Highway Patrol, City of South Lake Tahoe and Caltrans have taken collectively and individually over the last three years, what legally can and cannot be done to manage the traffic, and what options and efforts are being considered to address this regional challenge going forward. It is our hope that this letter clarifies and corrects misinformation about the roles of various jurisdictions and will allow all those interested in this problem to be fully aware of the efforts made to address it.

What has been done

• The County, City of South Lake Tahoe, CHP, Caltrans, and Lake Valley Fire Department, have participated in multiple consultations to learn more about the problems encountered during the most problematic weekends. These served to allow all the agencies that have a part in roadway travel to explain what particular problems their agency had and how they addressed them.

• The County has held two public meetings to discuss the problem with local residents and receive their ideas on how to address it.

• The City of South Lake Tahoe has increased its partnership and communications with all agencies, including a specific focus on the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority to assist the lodging industry in providing information to their guests about how and when to best travel out of in the area.

• All affected agencies have increased their public outreach via social media, broadcast and print media and other means to make visitors and locals alike more aware of the weekend challenges, particularly on holiday “exit” days.

• The City of South Lake Tahoe has joined forces with other agencies in the basin to establish an open line of communication to ensure the right information is getting to people at their front desks and on social media.

• Several jurisdictions, including Caltrans, the County, and the City of South Lake Tahoe, are in various stages of participating in WAZE’s Connected Citizens Program, allowing for additional means of proactive public communication.

• The County has discussed the issue with state Assemblyman Frank Bigelow’s office to determine if a change in state law to allow road closures to non-residents in residential areas would be possible (see more below).

• On behalf of the County and CHP, County Counsel sent a letter to Google and WAZE on June 5, 2018 requesting they cease directing traffic to residential streets and avoiding the Agriculture Inspection station (a misdemeanor). No response was received from WAZE by the County or CHP. It is our understanding that Google has altered its map application to avoid routing traffic through residential neighborhoods.

• The City is stepping up the ways it informs people in the basin about traffic and other concerns. In the coming weeks it will roll out a new Emergency Alert system that can keep residents and visitors alike in the know at a moment’s notice. The City has also partnered with Facebook and their Local Alerts program to disseminate pertinent information to social media users who live in or are visiting the basin.

• The County has established detours in various areas seven times in the last year to route drivers onto Sawmill Road as access to US-50 instead of the heavily residential populated North Upper Truckee.

Jurisdictions & authority

This issue includes the oversight and responsibility of many jurisdictions, including:

• Caltrans – authorized to close roads within the state highway system.

• El Dorado County Department of Transportation – responsible for maintenance of County roads (does not include US 50, State Route 88 and State Route 89). The County DOT does not have the authority to close roads unless they are impassable due to natural events such as fire, avalanche or sinkholes and under other very limited circumstances.

• CHP – Authority over emergency incident and traffic management on state and county maintained roadways.

• South Lake Tahoe Police Department – authorized to close roads within City limits due to traffic emergencies, pursuant to State law.

• El Dorado County Sheriff – authorized to close roads due to natural events such as fire, avalanche, or sink holes and traffic congestion and under other very limited circumstances.

Limitations on suggested actions

• Closing residential streets -- The County, CHP and SLTPD all agree that State law does not allow for closing public roads to one group (in this case, non-residents) while allowing it for another group(s) (in this case, residents). The California Supreme Court has stated “The streets of a city belong to the people of the state, and every citizen of the state has a right to the use thereof, subject to legislative control…all persons have an equal right to use them.”
This clearly indicates that we cannot, as has been suggested, close residential streets to non-residents.

• Adding capacity to US-50 – The primary problem is too much traffic volume on US-50 and the choke point it creates where the lanes are reduced from four to two. Adding lanes would be expensive (approx. $25M per mile), include the federal government to address the El Dorado National Forest, and include extensive environmental studies and public hearings. This is a long-term solution.

• Create a toll road – State law requires an HOV lane with toll roads. This is not a feasible option.

• Electronic closures – CHP is considering contacting WAZE during peak congestion periods informing them that the residential roads WAZE directs its users to are effectively closed due to traffic congestion and ask them to indicate such on their app.

• Changeable Message Signs (CMS) – operated by Caltrans, there are strict regulations on their use and content. Considering what can be done by Caltrans and if the County can utilize the same tools.

• Travel Distance electronic signs – operated by Caltrans and times are determined by traffic flow; if traffic is not moving, travel times are not accurate. Considering options to fix this function or turn them off during gridlocked times.

• Reversing lanes/counterflow – The County, along with Caltrans and CHP, is researching the legality of intermittently stopping eastbound US 50 traffic and opening it up to westbound/exiting traffic.

• Use of drones or real-time video – agencies are considering using drones or video from Caltrans’ webcams to provide a video image of point-in-time congestion as part of their public communications and media relations.

• QuickMap app push notifications – Caltrans is developing push alerts with its QuickMap app using geo-fencing for travelers in the impacted areas.

• The County is interfacing with State Assemblyman Frank Bigelow to determine if there is a legislative approach that would allow for greater local control of the roads.

All these agencies agree that the primary problem is simply too many vehicles at one time for the roadway. There is no single approach by any single agency that will serve as the solution. If we mitigate the traffic congestion in one area, it will only cause it to occur in another. We are sympathetic to the frustrations of local residents and visitors alike and are committed to considering whatever is legally possible and supportable from a resource standpoint to address the challenge.

- El Dorado County, the City of South Lake Tahoe, California Highway Patrol and Caltrans.