Steve Teshara named president of California Association of Councils of Governments

Steve Teshara, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber and chairperson of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) Board of Directors, now has another leadership duty for the upcoming year.

Teshara will serve as the president of the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG), a group whose membership includes 47 regional governments involved in the planning, funding, and development of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

He has been representing TTD on the CALCOG Board.

“Steve’s thirty years of experience collaborating on transportation initiatives in the Lake Tahoe Region complements CALCOG’s work,” said Bill Higgins, executive director, CALCOG. “He was a natural choice to lead our organization.”

Other members of CALCOG include large entities, like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco Bay Area and Metro in Los Angeles, as well asrural county-based agencies like the El Dorado County Transportation Commission and the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency.

Teshara is taking on this leadership role in a year when Proposition 6 threatens to eliminate or shelve more than 6,000 local transportation projects already underway and tens of thousands more in the coming years.

“CALCOG will be working to develop resources to educate the public on the value of a safe transportation network to local communities like South Lake Tahoe,” said Teshara.

CALCOG also focuses on sharing information between its members on a diverse set of policies ranging from housing, climate change, and economic development.

“There is no reason for our regional members to each invent their own wheel,” said Teshara. “When one comes up with a good idea, CALCOG works to share that information to the benefit of all.”

TTD has delivered numerous infrastructure projects, such as multi-use bicycle paths, roadway improvements, and water quality projects under Teshara’s leadership, including $160 million in funding through capital projects, transit operations, legislative work, and brokering efforts.

“Steve’s success and leadership in the environmentally sensitive Lake Tahoe Region is especially valuable on statewide policy issues, as projects have to account for more and more environmental impacts,” said Higgins.

Teshara said he looks forward to bringing the best ideas back to the Tahoe Region.

“There are regions doing very innovative things with ride sharing, pedestrian safety, and self-help funding,” said Carl Hasty, district manager, TTD. “We look at other regions for practices that will work to serve the traveling public in Tahoe. Recreation travel has a significant impact on our region, which state and federal transportation policy doesn’t always address. Steve’s leadership and participation in CALCOG helps TTD learn from regions with similar issues and expands our network of partners and contacts.”

Infrastructure projects TTD has delivered during Teshara’s tenure include:

Transportation projects completed or in progress
· US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project
· State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project
· Nevada Stateline to Stateline Bikeway
· The Incline Gateway State Route 28 Roundabout at State Route 431
· North and South Shore Demonstration Shared Use Path Project from Nevada to California
· Numerous transit system shelter improvements

Completed transportation plans
· State Route 28 Corridor Management Plan
· Trans-Sierra Capital Implementation Plan
· Linking Tahoe-Transit Master Plan
· Linking Tahoe-Corridor Connection Plan
· Linking Tahoe-Short Range Transit Plan