City Manager commits to improving the Regan Beach area and making it safer

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe has been a problem spot for Al Tahoe area residents this year, with late night parties, speeding on Lakeview Avenue, and illegal use after hours.

South Lake Tahoe City Manager Joe Irvin sat down recently with residents around the city-owned Regan Beach to find out what could be done to improve the current situation.

"I am committed to improving the park," said Irvin of the new plans with safety at the forefront.

Irvin told City Council Tuesday about the plans that will soon be put into place as a result of discussions with city staff, police and the residents:

Traffic-calming striping and improved pedestrian crosswalks on Lakeview Avenue
Aesthetically pleasing and consistent signage
Seasonal planter boxes at park entrance
New gates at both the entrance and exit of the beach

The beach area currently closes at dusk, but with no gates at the exit many cars have been using that point to enter after hours. Irvin said they are working on gates to be also moved at the entrance to be on Lakeview Avenue.

On April 18, 1967, the South Lake Tahoe City Council passed a resolution stating: “Whereas, Thomas F. Regan gave of himself to this community when he served as President of the Lake Tahoe Area Council, President of the Board of Trustees of Barton Memorial Hospital, President of the Lake Tahoe Country Club, Member of the El Dorado County Grand Jury, Member of the El Dorado County Planning Commission, Member of the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, the El Dorado County Representative to the Lake Tahoe Bi-State Study Committee and a member of the South Tahoe Rooster Club. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the adoption of this Resolution by the City Council of the City of South Lake Tahoe, California, that the area formerly known as “LAKESHORE PARK BEACH” shall forever hereafter be known as “THOMAS F. REGAN MEMORIAL BEACH.”

Fifty years later the City and four generations of the Regan family held a rededication of the beach with the installation of a new stone memorial.

In 2014-15, Community meetings, surveys and planning session were held to redesign Regan Beach but that project comes with a $10+ million dollar price tag. The City would like to readdress those plans in the future, but in the meantime Irvin and his team will be doing what they can to make it better and safer.