greenway

There are changes in the air and it's not just the leaves. School is going back, construction season is wrapping up, and Al Tahoe Boulevard is getting a new look.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Barbara Avenue between Lodi Avenue and Sierra Boulevard will be closing April 27 through October 15 as it will be a stating area for the construction of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail.

This is the same area used for staging on the City of South Lake Tahoe's Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets project in 2019.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Almost six months after work on the rehabilitation of Sierra Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe began, an official ceremony dedicating its reopening was held Thursday.

"The Sierra Boulevard project is more than just a road project," said SLT Mayor Brooke Laine. "It is a quality of life project. Its completion brings more than a half-mile of bike and walking trails to this area."

I first arrived in South Lake Tahoe in June 1991 about 6 weeks after college graduation. In 1991, Tahoe had the most amazing roads; now, Tahoe has the worst roads. North Dakota – a very low tax state – just might have the best roads in the whole country. In 1991, there were many places to rent in Tahoe at affordable prices; now, too many people who work in South Lake Tahoe need to commute from the Carson Valley, unnecessarily increasing their carbon footprint.

The next phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail will now be completed by El Dorado County, a move that is estimated to save $1,000,000.

During this week's meeting of the California Tahoe Conservancy Board, approval was given to the transfer of a $3.182 million grant to El Dorado County to build the next phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail. Conservancy staff recommended transferring the project from the State to the County who they said is in an advantageous position to deliver the project, and has indicated that it can complete the Project in a timely manner.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is creating a new design of Sierra Boulevard that will introduce Class 1 and Class 2 bike lanes, parallel parking spots, reduced lane size and lighted sidewalks. Called the Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets Project, work is expected to get underway on the .6 mile stretch of road in the summer of 2018, but not everyone is happy about it.

At the first of two community information meetings on Thursday night, City and NCE representatives gave an overview of the planned project, had a question and answer period and shared preliminary designs of Sierra Blvd.

A 3.86 mile shared used bike trail from Van Sickle Bi-State Park to Sierra Boulevard is getting closer to becoming reality after a Memo of Understanding (MOU) has been developed between its three partners.

The first phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail was completed through the Bijou neighborhood in Summer, 2015, but the next phase needed a partnership between the City of South Lake Tahoe (City), Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) and California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) to be completed.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - I could not be more honored and excited to represent this community as your Mayor. Having served on City Council for two years, I have learned that there are deeply passionate and extremely knowledgeable citizens and fellow council members who care immensely about our community and the decisions made by our City.

Even though construction won't start until 2019, a major step forward to the completion of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Trail Project occurred Thursday when the California Tahoe Conservancy approved the updated project and authorized an additional $200,000 in funding.

The Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees, the City of South Lake Tahoe and the California Tahoe Conservancy will soon be voting to swap land they own around the college so the South Lake Tahoe Greenway Shared-Use Bike Trail can be built between Bijou Community Park and Sierra Tract neighborhood.

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

The California Tahoe Conservancy announced today that construction of the first phase of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail will begin on Monday, July 6, 2015. The new bike and pedestrian trail extends about a half of a mile between Herbert Avenue and Glenwood Way and is scheduled to be completed by August.

If you've ever driven by South Tahoe Middle School just as the kids get to school, or as they depart, you know what an unsafe area it can be for students on bikes and on foot. Because of this, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District secured a $154,000 grant from the TRPA On Our Way program to work with the Lake Tahoe Sustainability Collaborative to conduct outreach and develop a connectivity and mobility plan for the area.

Boulder, Colorado has one. Portland, Oregon has one. Even Roseville and Truckee, California have one. If plans go as they appeared to during a presentation at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, South Lake Tahoe will soon have one.

What is it?

"It" is a combination BMX track and mountain bike skills park which will be located at the city owned Bijou Park.

Bijou Bike Park Association (BBPA) and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Ben Fish laid out the proposed plan to the Council and community.

The Recreation Mater Plan has been in front of local citizens, community groups and staff for the past several months, and now their ideas and suggestions has formulated a Draft Master Plan that can now be reviewed.

The Plan is intended to provide strategic guidance for the management, improvement and development of City and County parks, in conjunction with the recreation opportunities provided by other public and private entities in the South Shore.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Recreation Department is proud to partner with the Tahoe Tri Club and is hosting a Kids Triathlon this Sunday, June 30 at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Complex at 3 p.m. Registration for the event is $35.

The Tahoe Kids Triathlon is a super fun and super spectator friendly triathlon (series) for kids ages 3-13. The triathlon course includes the Recreation Complex Swimming Pool, Parking Lot, and Greenway that surrounds the Campground. A post-race party, BBQ and yearly age-group awards will follow the triathlon.

Age Groups:

UPDATED 5:19PM: Environmental regulators and a Lake Tahoe property owner who has hosted events for the League to Save Lake Tahoe have settled a dispute over environmental rule violations that stretch back to 2008.
Tamara Fritz and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency agreed to terms this week resolving violations between April 2008 and March 2011. Go here for more.

Here is a release this afternoon from the TRPA:

South Lake Tahoe residents are one big step closer to having their own multi-use trail that will connect major points through town."It feels really good to get to the milestone where most of the...