potholes

No, this can’t be. It’s too interesting to be a Rav4. Over the waning ‘teens, Toyota has sought to seemingly reinvent itself as a carmaker of interest. Now, that begs an important question, though: did they have to? Even as the cars became more and more relentlessly boring, people still bought them to make for the single biggest car brand in the world.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Road rehabilitation has long been a concern of City Council, but there hasn't always been money in the budget to do anything more than patching, pothole filling and some resurfacing. With almost 130 miles of roads (260 lane miles) maintained by the City of South Lake Tahoe, with many of them past their prime, it would take millions of dollars to get all of them to a top rating.

Dear Citizens of South Lake Tahoe,

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Each of the nine candidates for City Council answered the same ten questions that were given to them by South Tahoe Now. For nine consecutive days the candidate's responses will be shared in the order received.

Today, the first-time candidate Tamara Wallace gives her responses as she seeks a seat on the South Lake Tahoe City Council:

This opinion piece has been updated.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe supports Measure C, the ballot measure to fix potholes and repair road surfaces in the City of South Lake Tahoe. Fixing our roads protects Lake Tahoe, and is a critical complement to the advocacy by the League and many others to reduce pollution associated with Tahoe’s traffic. Taking action now is essential if we are to restore the Lake to its historic clarity.

I’m voting for Measure C because South Lake Tahoe needs a reliable and transparent way to fund road maintenance and improvement. Last winter was illustration enough for me. After I hit a pothole on Pioneer Trail during a snowstorm, I had no other option than to spend $800 for new tires if I was going to drive my children to school and get to work. In the summer months, I watched as the asphalt wore down from thousands of tires coming in from out of town every week. As the tourists leave, we are left with cracks and splits and holes.

Ever since we moved to South Lake Tahoe thirty eight years ago, we have been proud to call this city our home. Between our community spirit of caring and sharing, excellent schools, and the inspiring nature of the Lake and Mountains, we are truly fortunate to live in such a special place. We recently hosted our foreign exchange student from twenty years ago and we were proud to show him all of the community upgrades such as Heavenly Village, Lakeview Commons, Harrison Avenue, South Tahoe High School, and the new Whole Foods project.

When I ran for City Council, I ran on a platform of repairing and maintaining our local roads in South Lake Tahoe. I knew our community needed a solution to fix the dangerous potholes and cracks that endanger drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. After much planning and thought, I voted yes to place Measure C, a half-cent sales tax measure, on the November 7, 2017 ballot to fix our roads once and for all.

Roadwork stops in South Lake Tahoe at 6:00 a.m. Friday, so drivers have an easy go of it until 6:00 a.m. Wednesday as crews break for the Memorial Day holiday. Those working on the City of South Lake Tahoe roads go by the same rules as Caltrans, so both will stop for this period.

Starting Wednesday, Caltrans continues on the three-year Highway 50 project from the Y to Trout Creek. This year's work is from the Y to Tahoe Keys Boulevard. Another project is the completion of the bike trail from El Dorado Beach to Ski Run Blvd.

This past city council meeting all 5 council members agreed to have staff present us a ballot measure that would increase the city sales tax by 1/2%. This came after a survey was completed and results were presented by the outside independent company contracted by the city. The results indicated that almost 68% of the survey respondents supported the increase as long as the funds would be dedicated by law to roads.

People driving through South Lake Tahoe have mostly likely cringed as their car finds a pothole on a local street. That, or dodged them all by driving in a zig-zag pattern that appears to be that of a drunk driver.

After a winter with extreme rainfall, constant snow removal and high groundwater, there is most likely no street that has been spared an outbreak of potholes.

After Tuesday's City Council meeting, help is on the way!

South Lake Tahoe – Tahoe Chamber would like to thank Councilmember Davis, Mayor Sass, and the Council for the invitation to attend the City Council February 14 special meeting and for the opportunity to present the business community’s priorities to the City as they prepare for their strategic planning retreat.

Several years ago, the Tahoe Chamber and its members established a vision and a set of priorities for the South Shore community titled Tahoe Future 2020. The vision statement from that document reads:

Potholes are a reality anywhere water is able to get under pavement, and after a long, hard winter as South Lake Tahoe is experiencing, our local roads are not immune. All across the country potholes wreak havoc with drivers each winter, causing damage to cars and tires as well as fraying a few nerves.

They seem to be everywhere, and drivers on many roads can be seen using defensive driving skills warranting an "ace" on a Sega GT or Daytona USA video game.

After California suffered through two weeks of storms, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Monday, paving the way for cities and counties to get reimbursed for storm damage.

The City of South Lake Tahoe declared a state of emergency at their City Council meeting last week and is now going through the community to assess the damage.

Many roads in Nevada were under water Sunday after torrential rains went through, causing rivers and streams to flood. In Reno alone 50 roads were closed due to high water levels, and all bridges over the Truckee River in Reno were also closed.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) spent the day evaluating the state's roads affected by floods and rain. Multiple state roads in the greater Truckee Meadows and Carson Valley areas remain closed, including those in the Sparks industrial area and areas of Reno, including East McCarran Boulevard and South Virginia Street.

Mountain Resort Television reporter Nicole Marsel talks with the South Tahoe PD about St. Patrick's Day coming up, how to be safe, and what they're looking for to tell if you're driving under the influence, followed by the City in 60 discussing the increase in potholes around town due to a combination of the heavy snowfall / warmer temperatures we've been seeing.

We've all seen them, or driven through them. They are a sure sign of winter, filling with water at every storm. They are small, they are large, and in some states they joke they are big enough they can swallow a small car.

What are they? Potholes.