walkable

On April 18, 2017 the South Lake Tahoe City Council unanimously passed a resolution to: 1) Power the South Lake Tahoe community with electricity provided from 100 percent renewable sources by 2032 and 2) Reduce community carbon emissions from baseline by at least 80 percent by 2040, and reduce municipal emissions by 50 percent by 2030.

South Tahoe Now reached out to all nine candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council and provided the same list of questions to each one of them. Once a day their answers will be published in the order received.

Today's candidate is John Friedrich

Profession: Founder and Director, Tahoe Green Jobs Initiative

How many years in SLT: 15

If ever there was a time to draw on the healing powers of Lake Tahoe, it’s now. The COVID crisis, complete with loss of life and wide-ranging financial impacts, is being compounded by human struggle and a wellspring of social justice demonstrations that are gripping the nation. One of our core values at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is collaboration -- building collaborative relationships to protect Lake Tahoe. I can tell you that Tahoe's successes have not ever come from reinforcing divisions. The imagined “us vs them" simply creates false divides.

Celebrations have taken on many new forms since the start of social distancing. Birthday parties have become processions of cars parading past a celebrant’s home—people honking and waving, tossing candy and small gifts (for later disinfecting, then enjoying). And huge international celebrations like the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this week have moved online, giving room for individuals to celebrate and explore the conservation movement in new ways.

It's been one heck of a summer in terms of driving around town. Between Echo Summit and the Meyers roundabout, the horrible accident at Elks Club, US50 through town and then the construction at Stateline that caused delays back to Zephyr Cove in mid-September. Luckily, the Stateline issue was quickly remedied, the highway at Elks Club seems mostly repaired, and the Meyers roundabout turned out great.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The next public US Highway 50 Main Street Management Plan open house will be held on Tuesday, August 27 at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel Tallac Room from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The event will consist of a series of informational stations where residents can give input on the planning stages of this transformational project. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) are seeking comments as different options for the design of the corridor come into focus.

The community is invited to join the Tahoe Chamber in their visit to Carson City on July 16 from noon to 5:00 p.m. to explore how Carson City leaders and community members successfully transformed and revitalized their downtown main street.

The developing Main Street Management Plan for South Lake Tahoe parallels much of what Carson City did, and those going on the trek will have the chance to learn about the history of Nevada project and how the current business climate of the area has improved since the highway realignment.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It's been over three decades in the making. The US50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project, also known as the Loop Road, is getting closer to becoming a final plan and its implementation.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council heard a presentation by Tahoe Transportation District (TTD), Lew Feldman and John Hasty of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on Tuesday, outlining what has been accomplished and what is left to be done.

There are four people running for El Dorado County Supervisor for the 5th District on June 5: Incumbent Sue Novasel and challengers Kenny Curtzwiler, Norma Santiago and Jeffrey Spencer. The 5th District covers Pollock Pines to South Lake Tahoe and Tahoma.

South Tahoe Now asked each candidate the same questions, and here are all of their answers, exactly as they were presented to us.

Sue Novasel
Occupation: El Dorado County Supervisor – District V
Past political history:
2015 – Present: County Supervisor, District V

Conserving and restoring Lake Tahoe’s natural environment and revitalizing its communities requires a delicate balancing act. Historically, building consensus around how to strike that balance has been one of the region’s greatest difficulties.

Lake Tahoe reached its strongest-ever consensus on that balance with the 2012 Regional Plan and its focus on sustainable redevelopment to restore natural areas, bring legacy development up to modern environmental standards, and create walkable, bikeable, and vibrant town centers.

The Zalanta Resort at the Village celebrated the completion of their first phase Tuesday with a grand opening and ribbon cutting for local dignitaries.

On what was formerly known as "the hole," Zalanta is the first whole ownership luxury condominium residences in the Lake Tahoe Basin since Lakeland Village was completed 30 years ago.

The 30 residences are all one-story and available in 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units. The cheapest unit, priced at $950,000, and the most expensive at $2.125M have both sold as well as several other residences. The second phase will add another 60 residences.

As a national treasure offering world-class recreation opportunities, Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Northern California and Nevada. And sometimes, being popular has its challenges.

Tahoe’s limited roadways become congested during times of peak visitation, when thousands of people who live in nearby metropolitan areas get in their cars to drive up to our small mountain communities. Suddenly, a road system designed for 55,000 residents must handle four to five times that many cars on an average busy day.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Area Plan and the Tahoe City Lodge Project.

“This is the fourth area plan approved at Lake Tahoe and an important milestone for implementing the 2012 Regional Plan,” said Joanne S. Marchetta, executive director of TRPA. “With this plan, we can take significant steps to improve the environment and strengthen communities on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore.”

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.

Tamara Wallace, 46, Retired Businesswoman/Chamber Exec

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

According to Tahoe Transportation District at the presentation to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, “‘While the project and its alternatives focus on directing traffic flow around the casino corridor and creating a more walkable and bikeable downtown area, the creation of affordable housing is at the heart of the project,’ said Hasty.”

The South Lake Tahoe chapter of the Citizen's Climate Lobby recently asked all ten of the candidates their views on climate change, green buildings and our carbon footprint and how they can make a change if elected.

The Citizen's Climate Lobby is an organization focused on national policies to address climate change, and the South Lake Tahoe chapter is one of 354 in the United States and abroad.

Patricia Sussman of the local chapter said just five of the candidates responded to their questions.

At the end of business on Monday, papers were served on the City of South Lake Tahoe, the City Council and four members of the group Let Tahoe Decide to keep the subject of the Loop Road/US Highway 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project off the ballot in November.

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

We face some big, daunting environmental restoration challenges here at Lake Tahoe. But helping our environment every day can be as simple as riding a bike, walking, or taking transit. And the hundreds of people who participated in the Tahoe Bike Challenge this June, including many of our employees at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, are showing how big of an impact our individual actions can have.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the Tahoe Transportation District’s State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project to realign State Route 89 through Tahoe City.

The project realigns State Route 89 to route through traffic over roundabouts and a new two-lane bridge across the Truckee River to reduce transportation conflicts among drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians at the congested pinch point at the Tahoe City “Wye.”

Community members, school officials, local planners and agencies have been involved with the South Tahoe Middle School Connectivity Plan for months and the final plan will soon be available. The goal has been to create safer, more walkable and bikeable off highway routes around South Tahoe Middle School (STMS), Bijou Park and Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC). A $150,000 grant from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District got the activity in motion.

A public meeting providing an overview and update on the environmental document, design elements, and next steps for SR 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project is being hosted by the Tahoe Transportation District at Granlibakken Resort, Thursday, Dec. 4.

Known as the "Loop Road," the U.S. 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project is about two months away from having its environmental analysis completed. Expecting that completion in January, 2015, the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) is holding a community meeting will update people on the plan to realign traffic through the casino corridor.

Planners are working on a concept with a more walkable, bikeable and transit friendly "main street" from Pioneer Trail's intersection with Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe to the loop road to the east side of MontBleu.

Back in April, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) was awarded over $150,000 to look into providing safer, off highway opportunities around South Tahoe Middle School (STMS). The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) awarded the grant as part of their $500,000 "On Our Way" program grants.