Harry Moses-Chakmakis, South Tahoe High
Our home of beautiful South Lake Tahoe is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. With around 4.3 million visitors in 2011, as well as certain main events and holidays where our city’s population doubles and even triples. With this nonstop tourism occurring throughout South Lake Tahoe, it only makes sense to have a “downtown” area, which is what the loop road will provide. Despite the concerns of how the loop road will hurt our community, there are a lot of long term social and environmental benefits involved in this project.
Major concerns for implementing the Loop Road include the disruption that the construction will bring and time frames that go along with that; not to mention, the houses that will be have to be taken down and reconstructed somewhere else. There are many claims of how the Loop Road will be more trouble than it is worth, but this is not true. Yes, the construction “will take away businesses and homes that will not be replaced for years” and yes, “other areas need the attention” but this Loop Road will be beneficial to Lake Tahoe for years and years to come (TahoeTransportation.org). There are solutions to all of the concerns, and at the end of the day, this Loop Road will provide endless benefits our great town of South Lake Tahoe.
Socially and environmentally, This loop road will provide long term benefits to our town, especially with the air and water quality. Most residents, and tourists, are looking for any way to better the transportation throughout town and that is what the loop road will provide. Traffic throughout this town has caused local residents to be unhappy, as well as frustrate tourists who are visiting; all of the emissions and congestion throughout Lake Tahoe is doing nothing but damage the overall quality of our town. The fuel emissions that go into the air from cars idling in traffic, and the pollution runoff from the roads, have caused harm to the air and water quality of this town. A huge problem for the “environmental health” of Lake Tahoe is the “pollution” that runs off into the lake, such as the “sediments” from the roads, because when it “rains or snow melts, the fine sediments then wash into the lake” (NevadaAppeal.com). Scientists have done tests and research on the lake clarity and have found a “fine sediment” as “the number 1 contributor to clarity loss,” and the main source of “fine sediment pollution comes from roads, parking lots and buildings” (NevadaAppeal.com). This revitalization needs to be put into effect to save the clarity of the lake and environmental health.
Socially The Loop road will make South Shore’s casino corridors more pedestrian friendly and give Lake Tahoe a “vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtown” area which will give a more welcoming feel to the tourists and also locals of Lake Tahoe.
This realignment will bring the community closer together and will be beneficial to everyone to have this outdoor area to enhance the overall environment of our town instead of having a major 4-Lane highway going down the heart of our town.
Harry Moses-Chakmakis
South Tahoe High School,
1735 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150