Officials decide to end right-turn restriction pilot program in Meyers

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - For years, solutions have been sought to keep through traffic on the highway and out of Meyers neighborhoods during busy, getaway days. With the invention of mapping apps, Lake Tahoe visitors found the back ways to get around traffic that can back up on US50 on Sundays and holidays as they make the exodus to the west over Echo Summit.

It is now back to the drawing board as the right-turn restriction plan didn't get the apps to keep drivers on US50. The signs listing the Sunday and holiday right-turn ban will be removed on November 1.

For the past two summers, the El Dorado County Department of Transportation (DOT), CalTrans and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) worked on a plan that was proposed by two residents. They made right turns from North Upper Truckee and Sawmill roads illegal during certain hours and days, and fed that information to the mapping apps. El Dorado County supervisors created an ordinance so there were "teeth" put into the rule and the mapping apps were supposed to abide by that. They made the first summer a pilot period even though the most impact to the neighborhoods comes in winter when traffic can be at a standstill for hours, keeping residents from their homes. CalTrans wanted the pilot during summer first, to test success while the roads were clear.

In the summer of 2021, the first pilot year, officials were unable to get data from all holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day) due to the Caldor Fire closing US50 for weeks, so they continued the pilot to 2022.

Data was collected and for the most part, the apps were keeping drivers on US50, until Labor Day when a collision on the highway caused traffic to a grinding halt. The app then detected the backup and sent vehicles to North Upper Truckee even though the law said a right turn was not legal.

Drivers also were found to make a left turn from North Upper Truckee Road, then went through the roundabout to head west on US50. CalTrans did not want to see that kind of behavior by drivers in winter when traffic was not at its highest, leaving a high probability of collisions.

During a zoom meeting Monday, DOT and Caltrans representatives joined the public to explain the gathered data. The officials said they need the State to enact legislation to make it illegal to send traffic onto closed roads. They will continue to look for solutions as everyone involved knows they cannot continue to allow neighborhood roads to be used as a shortcut, thus stranding residents and those in their vehicles.

El Dorado County is not alone in this fight and some towns that have had success have made the solution permanent, and not temporary or just one or two days a week like the Meyers plan.

They will look at better chain-up areas, and the roundabout with bypass lane being installed at Pioneer and US50 in 2023 is expected to relieve backups that trigger apps to send traffic onto side roads.

In the meantime, there will be something like a "Stay on 50" promotion where they will work with lodging properties to inform guests to say on the highway, as well as message boards.

Supervisor Sue Novasel said she will work on a solution(s) until leaving office at the end of 2022. She has suggested to CalTrans to purchase the old Tweeten property on the north side of 50 near the roundabout to be used as a rest area/chain-up area. Having a larger area to chain up during snow conditions might be more appealing to drivers so they don't leave the main route onto roads that are not kept as clear during winter and are not equipped to handle the traffic.

South Tahoe Now reached out to CalTrans and DOT to see if the new geotargeting on the Quickmaps app could be used to alert those in a targeted range about chain controls, avalanche control closures, and other things that create traffic. Perhaps this info could also be used for large trucks that find their way onto North Upper Truckee without chains. They said they will discuss it with staff.