improvements

Improvements at the community of Kings Beach on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe continue. Placer County will begin work on the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project this summer, and officials are also connecting with the community members to see what else they'd like to see.

Lake Tahoe must improve its internal transportation systems before they can expect visitors to the region to get out of their cars and use different, and better, ways of getting around. That was the message during last week's Tahoe Talks presentation by Lake Tahoe transportation partners, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and El Dorado County.

It's been one year since the City of South Lake Tahoe was denied a grant by the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) for their Bijou Park Creek Watershed and SEZ Restoration Project, and today, the Conservancy Board did it again.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council made it official Tuesday and unanimously approved the purchase of the Knight's Inn for $5,935,000, paving the way for the 850-acre Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project. The 110-unit Knight's Inn, a motel built in 1956 on Highway 50 near Ski Run Blvd., has been owned by the Patel family since 1994.

"This project has been in the works for 10-12 years," said Pradip Patel. "This is the best for me, my family, and the community."

What is officially known as the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project, or unofficially the Knight's Inn Project, will be brought before the South Lake Tahoe City Council to be approved during a special meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 4:00 p.m.

The three phase, 850-acre project will be both an environmental and economic development project, something the City has been working on for several years.

Sierra Boulevard is about to get a whole new look that will include a better experience for bicyclists and pedestrians, streetlights and water quality improvements.

During Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, NCE, Inc. was awarded a contract to design the project which will run from Barbara Avenue to Palmira Avenue. They will be paid up to $610,110.

A public meeting will be held by the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District Board of Directors on Thursday, February 23 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the park located at 1011 E. San Bernardino in Meyers.

Discussion on several items are on the agenda, including park regulations, improvements and weddings/special events.

Here are some of those agenda items:

Disc golf at park update
RVs in the park
Surplus equipment removal update
each sand project
Grants update (including ADA)
Potential conversion to Recreation district
Sign program for park update

LAKE TAHOE, CALIF., - The Northstar Mountain Master Plan was approved Tuesday by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, providing a roadmap for the next 20 years for the North Lake Tahoe resort.

The Joint Commission recently recognized Barton Memorial Hospital’s capnography program for “Best Clinical Application.” Of 60 abstracts submitted, Barton received one of three national awards.

Plans for an upgrade to the recreational facilities at Kings Beach State Recreation Area were unveiled during a public meeting last week. The project includes upgrades to the playground, restrooms, picnic areas, boat ramp and parking area, a relocation of the pier and the addition of an event area and stage, all over the next 20 years.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) held the meeting to get public feedback, and for those unable to attend the comment/feedback period is available online until February 15, 2017.

Twenty-five years ago, I finished my graduate work in Oregon and moved to Northern Nevada for a planning position at TRPA. Having spent a large part of my youth hiking and camping at Tahoe and in the Sierra, the move felt like coming home.

It wasn't record setting, but it was disturbing for safety officials in Nevada to read the reports that more people died on Nevada roads in 2016 than the previous year.

Preliminary data shows that 327 traffic fatalities occurred on the state's roads in 2016, one more death than in 2015. There were five more crashes, more pedestrians deaths by vehicles (5), and more motorcyclist deaths (21).

Alcohol related crashes and deaths decreased in 2016, with 11.46 percent fewer deaths and 15.38 percent fewer crashes relating to drunk driving.

Denim is now the state’s official fabric to recognize its role in California history, and every autographed collectible sold in California must come with a certificate that verifies it's not a forgery. Those are just two of 898 new laws facing Californians in 2017.

Here are just a few of them compiled in part by California Highway Patrol (CHP):

Late Friday night, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the U.S. Senate in passing the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, which will bring $415 million in future funding to Lake Tahoe over the next seven years. The decision brought cheers from many local agencies, including the League to Save lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Vail Resorts has called on the United States Congress to approve the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015. This Act provides $415 million in funding and reauthorizes important Lake Tahoe restoration activities that began in 1997 and refocuses federal, state and local efforts toward reducing wildfire threats, improving water quality and clarity, and combating invasive species. All of these are important to the local economy at one of the most visited lakes in the world.

By now, most people have heard: Federal courts upheld the 2012 Regional Plan for Lake Tahoe, affirming the blueprint that maintains development caps and strengthens environmental protections while encouraging community revitalization, redevelopment, and updated infrastructure.

Capturing the most attention these days is the traffic in our small communities from millions of people who drive up to enjoy our lake. And the transportation system is where TRPA is giving more focused attention to benefit Tahoe’s environment, economy, and quality of life.

Construction on the new three mile shared-use path from Incline Village to Sand Harbor has ended for the season.

During this year's phase one, crews built an underpass beneath the highway to bring the upcoming shared use path from the east to west side of the road near the Flume Trail. In addition, work began on the three new parking areas located near the Ponderosa Ranch and Tunnel Creek Café that will provide safer options for the one million recreationists who visit the area each year. This year’s efforts also included the relocation of a sewer (effluent) pipe near Hidden Beach.

NOTE: All lane closures are weather dependent and a storm is expected in the Lake Tahoe area Tuesday through Wednesday night, November 15-16.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

John Shearer, 49 years old, has lived in South Lake Tahoe for over 30 years and own and operate several local businesses.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

If you're driving north of Lake Tahoe this month, expect delays as the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) begins to groove pavement on Interstate 80 Monday, November 7. Crews will be working from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until November 23.

Additional work days may be required after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. (No work is scheduled on Veterans’ Day November 11.)

It is an exciting time to live on the South Shore – during a critical point in our region’s evolution and potential. It is time to set our course: moving away from bickering and blaming, exclusionary special interests and single-industry dominance to consensus-building and proactively choosing progress. Whether we live in Nevada or California, everyone benefits from uniting towards a sustainable vision for the South Shore.

When one sees a vacant lot in the Lake Tahoe Basin with a California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) sign placed on a tree within its borders, it normally that means the parcel will remain vacant.

And in most cases, that is true.

In the basin, CTC owns 4,780 parcels of land totaling 6,400 acres, many of those parcels are about 1/4 acre in size. In the 1980s and 1990s, most of these smaller lots were purchased due to their being deemed environmentally sensitive. If a lot, or a portion of a lot, was once considered to be sensitive, they are permanently protected and cannot be built upon.

A prime piece of real estate in Tahoe City that was originally built in 1957 for housing during the 1960 Olympics has never lived up to its potential, and is now proposed for destruction to make way for a 118-room hotel.

Sold at the end of 2013, the property known as the Hendrickson Building located at the west end of Tahoe City at 255 North Lake Blvd. is being transformed into the Tahoe City Lodge.

Learn more about the US 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project during a community forum hosted by the Tahoe Chamber on November 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel.

The program will include a project update, information about the environmental analysis, and audience Q & A about the highly debated topic also known as the Loop Road.

With the pending release of the draft environmental impact study for public review and comment, it’s never been more front and center than now and now is the time for the public to get their questions answered.