Incline Village Transportation Town Hall listening session on planned mobility hub

A major step in connecting all transportation hubs around Lake Tahoe will be a planned mobility hub in Incline Village, Nev. Four town hall meetings have been held over the past few weeks and a listening session will be held on Friday, March 5 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Town Hall styled forums with community discussion periods were led by the Tahoe Transportation District, Washoe County, and the Incline Village/Crystal Bay Visitor's Bureau.

They were held for the community to better understand Incline Village’s potential for traffic and accessibility improvements, and share solutions to those challenges. One idea for the location for the new mobility hub is on the grounds of the old Incline Village Elementary School on Southwood Blvd. The Washoe County School Board has already approved selling the property to TTD, but no final decisions on the hub location has been made. The TTD board should have it on their agenda March 12.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Transit Master Plan identifies transit hubs or centers as common locations to provide parking, access to public transit, trails, and other points of community needs.

The hubs will aid in moving people to and around the lake with a goal of reducing automobile usage by 20 percent. Hubs around the lake will vary in size, shape and function; each designed to fit a specific set of needs while being influenced by location and community input. They intersect trails, bus routes, roads, bike paths, and in the case of Lake Tahoe, boats.

An example of a mobility hub on the south shore is the new one at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Hubs can feature public transit connections, bike and car share services, Uber/Lyft, EV charging stations, information and way-finding kiosks, rideshare, and micro-transit with possible amenities of coffee/snack shop, bike shop, ski rentals, public art, farmer's markets, and meeting spaces. The are different, just to meet the needs of the area and can be a mechanism for addressing community issues such as traffic and transportation needs.

Residents have been asked to weigh in on gaps in services they see in the community during the first four town halls including a park, playground, workforce housing, community services and community center.

The possible choice of the old school as the new Incline Village mobility hub has drawn concern from residents. While the residents have expressed a need for parking solutions, safe transit, and a hub in a location that provides access to trails, major thoroughfares, and solves congestion issues, the location of the center is at the center of debate.

Residents have said they worry about traffic and unsafe roads as a result of the mobility hub.

The school site is being considered for a few reasons. TTD is currently using the location as the summer hub for the East Shore Express are among them as well as and grant funds are available to purchase the school or the federal funds are lost. In 2019, 40,000 people used the East Shore Express to access Sand Harbor on SR28.

Depending on what the TTD board decides next Friday, project planning can start by the end of the year.

To sign up from the March 5 listening session, visit HERE.