Right-turn restrictions in Meyers will not happen this winter, possible continuation of pilot next summer

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - In an effort to keep traffic on US50 and not in the neighborhoods in Meyers, a right-turn restriction pilot program was implemented this past summer.

With many weekend visitors leaving South Lake Tahoe during the same four-hour window, there is extra congestion on US50 in Meyers during this time. Combine this with heavy snowfall and highway closures, internet, and wayfinding apps finding more expeditious routes, people don't want to stay in line and leave in search of a quicker route.

"This bypassed customary routes created for high volume and pushed vehicles into neighborhoods not designed for that kind of traffic," El Dorado County Department of Transportation (DOT) Director Rafael Martinez said Thursday during a virtual town hall meeting.

A collaborative effort with DOT, California Highway Patrol (CHP, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO), and Caltrans resulted in some solutions to the congestion and neighborhood traffic.

Several solutions have been tried. When North Upper Truckee was closed to traffic, drivers used Sawmill Road. They tried the "nudge," hard closures, and "super nudges" to encourage participation and keep drivers on US50, but wayfinding apps were still sending people through neighborhoods.

They tried letters from law enforcement to the app makers, but they never responded Martinez said. They tried electronic messaging, and when that didn't work, DOT was approached by two residents, Jeffrey Spencer and Tony Russo, who worked out a plan of right turn restrictions, a legal regulatory sign so google had to abide by it.

A pilot program was implemented during a season with the best visibility and traction, from May 5 to Oct 31. DOT was collecting data during the Memorial Day holiday when results were "insightful," then more was gathered over the 4th of July, and that was "eye-opening." DOT fine-tuned the data and made changes so they were looking forward to Labor Day being a good day for the information they were looking for.

CHP, EDSO, DOT, and Caltrans wanted to show the right-turn restriction was working and it would make a great winter pilot project.

Then the Caldor Fire happened and they were unable to test the closure.

The stakeholders met and went over data they did have, and they found vehicles were still being routed by map apps to North Upper Truckee (NUT) and Sawmill roads. This was largely in part due to people using the roundabout as a means to bypass vehicular traffic after making a left turn off NUT onto US50. The app algorithms showed drivers would benefit from this left turn off of NUT, thus making it a dangerous option as well as not keeping them out of neighborhoods.

There was a lack of sufficient evidence to show the right-turn ban worked, Martinez said.

Based on that, it was unanimous with the partners to not move forward with the right-turn restrictions this winter.

"But, it doesn't mean we are walking away from this matter," said Martinez.
"Supervisor Novasel won't let me."

They will try again this spring if Caltrans give them the okay.

Martinez said this can be viable and it's their responsibility to introduce new aspects. He said as long as they have legal and viable ideas that can show success, they will do them.

CHP and EDSO issued some tickets to those making the illegal right turn but don't have the manpower to cover those two intersections all the time. They found that if a law enforcement vehicle was in the area, drivers complied, but if there was no vehicle at the turn, people broke the law.

The turn restrictions were also impositions to residents but there was no implementation that was going to be perfect. The partners will keep trying to come up with a plan to prevent the wayfinding all from sending people away from the congestion.

The problem is nothing new and not unique to just South Lake Tahoe and Meyers. Solutions to a better transit system and getting people= out of their cars will continue to be looked at, Novasel said.

"Find a better way and easier mechanism to get to Tahoe," said Novasel. She said changing habits will always be an issue. "Americans love their cars."

One problem is that it is hard to change human behavior. Just as with road constructions, drivers in the back are always leaving the line to find a way to the front, leaving the middle group stuck for longer than if people just stayed in line.

"We're going to keep at this, continue to try and find ways of mitigating this," said Martinez.

In the meantime, the turn restriction signs will be removed from NUT and Sawmill roads this week.