pedestrians

A driver of a minivan that was headed to a closed Reno Street full of pedestrians on Saturday was shot and killed by a police officer on foot.

The incident began at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 3 when a Reno Police Department Motor Unit attempted to make a traffic stop on a silver minivan in the area on Kuenzli Street and E. 2nd Street. The minivan failed to yield, proceeding west toward downtown Reno.

The South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project on 10,000 acres near Fallen Leaf Lake has resumed.

Crews with the U.S. Forest Service will be mechanically removing whole trees off Fallen Leaf Road near the campground over the next several months and the area will be closed for public safety.

The goal of the project is to reduce the risk of severe wildfire and create healthier forests.

May is National Bike Safety Month, and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is reminding motorists and bicyclists to share responsibility for roadway safety. California’s weather allows bicyclists to enjoy riding many months throughout the year. Although bicycle safety should be practiced every day, the month of May has been set aside to draw awareness to how we can all help minimize bicycle injuries and deaths.

A three-month long tree removal project off of Fallen Leaf Lake Road near the campground will start around May 15, 2016. Due to the heavy equipment needed, the Forest Service will issue a forest order closing the project area (units 1 and 148) to pedestrians from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily.

Visitors to Lake Tahoe’s east shore could soon have a new bike path linking upscale Incline Village to Nevada’s Sand Harbor State Park, but the price tag might induce sticker shock: $12.5 million for the 3-mile project.

Yes, that is more than $4 million a mile in taxpayer dollars for a 10-foot-wide bike path traveling just about 16,000 feet along the picturesque mountain lake.

Not to mention another $7 million to $9 million that the Nevada Transportation Department plans to spend in state gas taxes in conjunction with the project on related environmental and safety needs.

The South Shore of Lake Tahoe is divided by lines. These state, county, and city lines work well on a map, but they do not define the day-to-day reality of the people who live and work in this community. In the last decade we have seen definitive projects reshape South Shore – Heavenly Village, Lakeview Commons, Harrison Avenue Streetscape. We have seen new bike trails and the opening of a bi-state park.

While California figures are not in yet, Nevada has released a report on their traffic fatalities for 2015.

Preliminary data shows that there were 321 Nevada traffic deaths in 2015, an increase by 30 deaths over the previous year.

When compared with the number of miles driven in Nevada, though, traffic deaths have dropped from an average of 1.54 deaths per every 100 million miles traveled in 2008 to 1.13 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2013. Statewide, traffic fatalities reached an all-time high of 432 in 2006.

Halloween is often recognized as a holiday that offers just as much fun for adults as it does for children. Youngsters may look forward to a night of trick-or-treating, but many adults choose to partake in the festivities, too – oftentimes with alcohol included. While Halloween may be a spooky night, the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and California Highway Patrol (CHP) want to help ensure that it is also a safe one. If you plan on making alcohol a part of your celebrations this year, designating a sober driver or finding a safe ride home should be a top priority.

The 13th annual Tour de Tahoe bicycle ride around the lake is on Sunday, September 13. More than 1,800 riders are expected to take on the 4,000 feet of climbing involved in the ride which continues to gain in popularity. Besides recreational riders there will also be teams riding to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Douglas County residents can expect to see an increase in the normal law enforcement presence near crosswalks within Douglas County between August 17 and August 28, 2015. Douglas County has joined forces with Lyon County and other law enforcement agencies statewide to monitor pedestrian safety.

Join community members on Wednesday, June 24 at the next 'Tahoe Talks' session when the topic will be "Law Enforcement Strategies to Improve Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety."

Someone from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department will be on hand to provide discussion and answer questions after the viewing of a short webinar produced by the Association of Pedestrians and Bicyclists.

Webinar presenters:
Jim Curtin, City of Seattle Department of Transportation
Brian Dougherty, City of Seattle Department of Transportation

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the Tahoe Transportation District’s State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project to realign State Route 89 through Tahoe City.

The project realigns State Route 89 to route through traffic over roundabouts and a new two-lane bridge across the Truckee River to reduce transportation conflicts among drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians at the congested pinch point at the Tahoe City “Wye.”

City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner and just one member of the public showed up at the South Lake Tahoe council chambers on Wednesday as Caltrans unveiled their $57 million U.S. Highway 50 Improvement Project. This three year project will have major impacts on businesses and travel from the "Y" to Trout Creek Bridge starting in 2017 so Caltrans officials at the presentation expected more involvement from the community.

The public has two upcoming opportunities to plan the future of Lake Tahoe bike and pedestrian paths, the first of which will be held on Tuesday, April 14 at the South Lake Tahoe Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Lake Tahoe Region Bike and Pedestrian Plan (BPP) was last updated in 2010, and because of this, the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO) is conducting an online survey as well as holding a meeting on both the North and South shores of Lake Tahoe.

While the summertime tourist to South Lake Tahoe should only be slightly affected, business owners along Highway 89 are worried about their livelihood with overnight road construction and blocked driveways.

During Thursday evening's Caltrans informational meeting at South Tahoe High, several owners of lodging properties, restaurants, sports and retail stores spoke about their concerns during the project which will last from mid-April to mid-October in 2015 and could even extend into the 2017 building season.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, in its capacity as the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization, is asking people to take an online survey and provide public input needed to create a connected, accessible, and safe bicycle and pedestrian network at Lake Tahoe.

The survey is being offered through June 30. It is available at http://tahoempo.org/atpsurvey/ and takes about 15 minutes to complete.

With holiday celebrations upon us, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is preparing for this heavily-traveled time of year by educating the motoring public about safety on our roadways. As part of its upcoming Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) the CHP is reminding travelers to buckle up, adhere to the posted speed limit, avoid distractions behind the wheel, and always designate a sober driver.

The gates to Van Sickle Bi-State Park closed today for the winter, but, as always, people are invited to take the easy walk into the park.

The California Tahoe Conservancy said today that the park will be closed from October 31 to May 1.

Paid parking is available nearby at the Parking Garage at Heavenly Village. The park provides opportunities for short day use outings, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just having fun in the snow, however sledding is not allowed.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department will conduct targeted pedestrian and bicycle safety law enforcement this summer in order to reduce accidents. They will be deploying officers on bicycles and motorcycles to educate the public.

In 2013, the South Lake Tahoe Police department conducted 42 injury traffic collision investigations that involved serious and/or fatal injuries. 10 of those collisions involved bicycles and 5 involved pedestrians.

The official dedication of South Lake Tahoe's 1.2-mile shared-use bike path that connects Elks Point and Round Hill Pines and provides access to Rabe Meadow with Nevada Beach and Round Hill Pines Resort will be held on Thursday, June 19 at 12 p.m.

The second segment of the Stateline-to-Stateline Bikeway, South Shore Demonstration Project adds to the existing path for a total of 2.2 miles. Meanwhile, the North Demonstration Project is expected to begin construction in 2015 and the first phase will connect Incline Village to Sand Harbor State Park.

Construction has begun on the 2014 State Streets Waterline Replacement Project.

This project will improve water quality, quantity, pressures and, most importantly, will enhance firefighting capability in the State Streets neighborhood. The project will consist of installation of a 12” main on Tahoe Keys Blvd. and 6” mains on Idaho Ave., Wyoming Ave., Montana Ave., Utah Ave., Colorado Ave., Arizona Ave., Texas Ave., and Jeffery St. In addition to the water mains, fire hydrants will be installed at approximately 500 foot intervals to provide better fire protection.

This Halloween, police, sheriff and CHP Officers in El Dorado County will crack down on drunk and drugged drivers throughout the region with an aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement effort. The Avoid the 6 DUI Task Force has given a fair warning to all partygoers: keep the party off the road.

“The scariest part of Halloween is not the spooky costumes and scary pranks, it’s the impaired drivers. All too often, partygoers don’t plan ahead and choose to drive impaired, but a costume can’t disguise drunk driving,” said Press Information Officer Dave Stevenson.

On Wednesday, July 17 at around 8:30 p.m. South Lake Tahoe Police officers responded to the intersection of US Highway 50 with Heavenly Village Way to investigate an injury traffic collision.

Steven Magelssen, 20, of South Lake Tahoe, was riding his bicycle southbound on US Highway 50 in the center left turn lane. He was approaching a red traffic signal at Heavenly Village Way. Pablo Bobadilla, 23, of South Lake Tahoe, was riding his skateboard, and in the company of other pedestrians, while attempting to cross Highway 50 in a marked crosswalk.