Collaboration has been key to eliminating problematic street situation around Heavenly

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The winter of 2022-23 highlighted the traffic issue created by people driving to Heavenly Mountain Resort for a day on the slopes during a storm. Heavy snow, excess vehicles, and a lack of visible controls led to backups and cars parked wherever they pleased. The situation has been an issue for years, but the epic winter highlighted it more.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD), the City of South Lake Tahoe, and officials at Heavenly worked together over the summer to create a plan that would hopefully eliminate the problems of last winter.

The first step was a reserved parking plan at Heavenly, where cars with four or more people inside could park for free on weekend mornings and high-volume days, and others could pay $20. Parking is free during the week and after noon on non-blacked-out dates.

"So far, our reservations-based parking program at the Heavenly California Base Area on weekends and peak periods has been a success," said Heavenly Communications Manager Cole Zimmerman. "We have seen a noteworthy decline in cars arriving to this lot, which means more people are carpooling (a critical component of this program), with a 69 percent carpool rate on our booked reservations. One of our primary goals with this program is to encourage carpooling and reduce congestion on our roads and around our base areas, and it's clear that is happening – and those with 4+ in a single vehicle park for free at Cal Base during these designated times when reservations are required."

The second step was action by the City to work on "neighborhood preservation" including reduction of on-street parking and restriction of seasonal parking within the Heavenly Valley residential neighborhoods. People who live in the area of the ski resort had reported the inability to get in and out of their homes due to cars blocking the street and their driveways. The City added additional No Parking Zones and a Residential Parking permit program for the area to minimize the impacts of non-resident parking on neighborhood streets. They also added an Angle Parking Ordinance to require those parking on Ski Run Blvd to park in the right direction for positive traffic control.

To make the whole plan work, the SLTPD and the other City departments had to play a big part in opening the lines of communication between the resort and the City.

"The whole process is working out pretty well," said SLTPD Lt. Scott Crivelli. "The Police Department Staff, City PIO, Public Works Department, and Heavenly Staff have been working collaboratively on a daily basis when snowy/icy road conditions exist. It’s been great having an open line of communication between all the entities throughout the day."

SLTPD has been able to continuously monitor conditions that dictate response and operations, direct the City and Heavenly sanders and plows, and assess roads for closures and 4x4/chain controls. The City has kept the public informed through social media and with appropriate signage.

Heavenly also has a message system to keep the public informed. Guests can opt into real-time updates about conditions and operations (including parking status) at Heavenly, by texting ‘Updates’ to 530-302-2751.

Crivelli said all parties have ongoing meetings every other week at a minimum, more if the weather dictates. That way adjustments can be made to operations to ensure success.

Once the Heavenly parking lot fills up and people are directed to the appropriate street parking areas, the SLTPD Community Service Officers and Parking Ambassadors patrol the areas and issue citations to any vehicles parked in either a No Parking Zone or in the residential parking permitted areas without a permit.

"Overall, the operation is running smoothly with no major issues to speak of, but again, we’re constantly monitoring ourselves and making adjustments as the needs arise," said Crivelli.

"Our relationship with the City, Police, and Public Works has flourished as we continue to work with them through this program and provide real-time updates. We look forward to continuing this critical communication and relationship," added Zimmerman.