Apr 30, 2021
Lake Tahoe, CA/NV – The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board Wednesday unanimously approved a new transportation plan and policies that will do more to reduce reliance on the automobile and get projects on the ground than any previous plan, the agency said today.
The Regional Transportation Plan has been broadly supported by Lake Tahoe transportation organizations and developed with input from more than 8,500 people through an inclusive information gathering process with some elements provided in English and in Spanish. A concurrent approval by the TRPA board today updated air quality standards for the Tahoe Basin to measure Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per capita, which will improve how development standards are used to mitigate traffic impacts and further reduce reliance on the automobile.
“This new plan and policies are a blueprint for a 21st century transportation system for Lake Tahoe,” TRPA Executive Director Joanne S. Marchetta said. “For the first time, we are aligning land use and science with specific projects and funding to achieve what everyone wants: an interconnected transportation system that achieves climate change strategies, reduces congestion, and better serves residents and visitors.”
Reducing reliance on the automobile has been a fundamental goal since TRPA was created more than 50 years ago, according to the agency. Through the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program, many collaborative transportation projects have been completed. The Regional Transportation Plan will systematically connect projects while emphasizing improved transit service and parking management in high visitation areas. The new plan will also implement the climate action policies and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of both states and local governments.
Elements of the new transportation plan include:
- A sustainable funding plan to get projects completed
- A full trail system including completion of the Tahoe Trail encircling the lake
- Maintaining free transit and increasing frequency of service
- On-demand rideshare, bikeshare, and micro shuttle services
- Shuttles to and from communities outside the basin
- 17 new mobility hubs throughout the region
- Employer and employee transportation programs
- Technology improvements such as smartphone apps
- Parking management and variable parking pricing
Next steps for the transportation plan are to identify a range of regional revenue options with assistance from a Bi-State Consultation on Transportation and to re-assess regional development mitigation options to achieve the new per-capita VMT threshold standard.
The plan can be viewed at www.trpa.gov/rtp.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment. For additional information, contact Jeff Cowen, Public Information Officer, at (775) 589-5278 or jcowen@trpa.org.
Jan 14, 2021
By Mark Bruce
Like many residents and visitors of Lake Tahoe, I have had the good fortune of running, hiking, swimming, skiing, dining, lodging and otherwise living in and around Lake Tahoe nearly all of my life. Tahoe has played a vital role in the development of my most treasured relationship, with my wife Lisa, where we both learned to care for much more than ourselves, and where we were married 25 years ago on the west shore.
Over the years, Lake Tahoe’s spirit has inspired us to find, nurture and protect many other vital and beautiful Tahoe relationships, beyond just family, friends, and careers. Lake Tahoe possesses a spirit so spectacular that it commands us to think more about nature and community than ourselves. Lake Tahoe requires engagement in community projects, local government, and non-profit ventures to honor its legacy. It is a place where commitment, sacrifice–and yes, great enjoyment–forge dramatic relationships with other partners of the ecosystem, including trails, streams, coves, meadows, and sugar pine stands.
For the past eight years, as a member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Governing Board, I have watched Executive Director Joanne Marchetta forge a unified Lake Tahoe. The agency has become a positive unifying force for all stakeholders, bringing together two states and local and regional leaders to solve longstanding problems and emerging threats. I am grateful to serve among an army of Tahoe stewards. Collective stakeholder efforts encourage thoughtful policy making by the TRPA board, award-winning planning and implementation by TRPA staff, and a fully engaged community capable of just about anything for the sake of Lake Tahoe. As I step into the role of Board Chair, I have the utmost appreciation for the positive momentum and personal commitment within and surrounding all of us.
While we have unprecedented momentum, we also face unprecedented challenges. Climate change exacerbates nearly every challenge ahead of us: invasive species, transportation, water quality, and forest health. In terms of invasive species, the growth of aquatic weeds in the Tahoe Keys lagoons will heighten significantly as temperatures continue to rise. The massive infestation is becoming a source for weed growth in other parts of the lake and it can only be solved with strong partnerships. We must act on this threat with urgency, especially in the Tahoe Keys.
Of all our priorities, transportation issues are top of mind right now. Strategic and innovative improvements to our transportation system will help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gases, increase recreation access, and improve air and water quality. Prioritizing key environmental improvement projects and finding regional transportation revenue are most critical to our success. We will rely heavily on stakeholder trust and collaboration to achieve our objectives.
Climate change is also impacting forest health and increases the threat of catastrophic wildfire at Lake Tahoe. In the face of prolonged drought and decreasing snowpack, we must adapt our forest management strategies. My hope is that the community will join me in supporting large-scale forest management projects like the proposed 59,000-acre Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership that will reduce fuels across major swaths of Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Approval of this and similar projects will make the forest safer and more resilient to drought and other effects of climate change.
Thanks to all our stakeholders, we are on a good path and are primed to succeed. In just the last few years, TRPA unanimously adopted the Shoreline Plan, streamlined the Development Rights system, and approved the Tahoe South Events Center and Highway 50 South Shore Community Revitalization projects. Even throughout the pandemic, TRPA staff has stepped up and continued their outstanding work from permitting, to watercraft inspections, to delivering a groundbreaking regional transportation plan—all while working remotely.
As we begin the new year, we will also benefit from new perspectives. At our Governing Board meeting this month, we will welcome two new Nevada board members, incoming Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill and newly appointed Nevada At-Large representative Hayley Williamson. I am excited about the strategic and technical contributions they will make to the board and look forward with confidence to the selection of any new California board members later this year.
There is beauty and goodness in our work at Lake Tahoe. I invite our leaders, our residents, and our visitors to continue our positive momentum and relationships into the future for the great benefit of Lake Tahoe.
Mark Bruce is the newly elected Chair of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board
Dec 28, 2020
NOTICE OF 30‐DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
DRAFT 2021 FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), in its role as the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization, is pleased to announce a 30‐day public comment period for the Draft 2021 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP). The public comment period commences on December 28, 2020 and closes on January 28, 2021. There will be an opportunity for public comment January 22, 2021 at the scheduled Tahoe Transportation Commission Board meeting.
The Draft 2021 FTIP document is available upon request or can be viewed online here.
Submit comments to:
Judy Weber, Associate Transportation Planner
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
P.O. Box 5310
Stateline, NV 89449
Or email: jweber@trpa.gov
The FTIP is a four‐year program of surface transportation projects for the Tahoe Region that is consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan and related local, state, and federal planning processes. This document complies with the federal transportation bill ‐ Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act requirements and is being circulated as required by the United States Department of Transportation’s metropolitan planning regulations 23 Code of Federal Regulations Part 450. Please direct any questions regarding this notice to Judy Weber at jweber@trpa.gov.
Dec 16, 2020
Lake Tahoe, CA/NV — Seven outstanding restoration, sustainability, and construction projects were recognized today as recipients of Best in the Basin awards by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) during an online meeting of the agency’s Governing Board. The projects and programs each exhibit outstanding planning and execution and lead the way in environmental stewardship in the Lake Tahoe Region, according to the agency.
Now in its 29th year, TRPA’s annual Best in the Basin awards presentation provides a moment to appreciate the hard work, collaboration, and progress made every year in pursuit of Lake Tahoe’s restoration and protection. View past winners here. This year’s award winners are:
Tahoe Blue Crew Program – League to Save Lake Tahoe
The League to Save Lake Tahoe created the Tahoe Blue Crew Program to help address the litter problem all around Tahoe. Blue Crews are groups, families, and organizations that commit to regular trash cleanups and to measuring what they retrieve. This year crews conducted more than 400 cleanups, netting over 5,000 pounds of trash from more than 100 miles of beaches, meadows, and neighborhoods.
Bow Bay Historic Home Renovation – John and Heather Mozart
Owners of a circa 1940 Julia Morgan-designed home in Rubicon Bay decided to restore the home to its original form. The renovation maintained historic integrity while incorporating fire protection measures, significant landscaping, and more modern erosion control Best Management Practices.
East Shore Trail – Incline Village to Sand Harbor – Nevada Department of Transportation
This initial, 3-mile segment of the Lake Tahoe East Shore Trail is helping to address a host of issues on one of the busiest and most impacted travel corridors in the basin. The shared-use path is providing safer recreation access, connections between recreation areas and transit, an unparalleled recreation experience, fewer accidents, reduced impacts to air quality from vehicle use, and reduced erosion and fine sediment run-off to protect the lake’s famed water quality.
Pioneer Trail Utility Undergrounding – El Dorado County Department of Public Works
This project converted a multitude of overhead utility wires to an underground conduit bank in a TRPA-defined scenic corridor along Pioneer Trail between Black Bart Ave. and Golden Bear Tr. in South Lake Tahoe. El Dorado County and multiple utility companies partnered to relocate 5,800 feet of overhead powerlines underground to improve the scenic quality of the corridor, enhance utility reliability, and increase wildfire safety.
Sierra Boulevard Complete Streets – City of South Lake Tahoe
This project has provided tremendous benefit to the community while addressing numerous TRPA Regional Plan and environmental threshold goals. The project fully rehabilitated Sierra Boulevard in the City of South Lake Tahoe and greatly improved safety for all users of the road. It improves energy conservation and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by promoting non-motorized travel between neighborhoods and commercial centers.
Spooner Lake Landscape Resilience Project – Nevada Tahoe Resource Team
Fuel reduction projects like the Spooner Lake Landscape Resilience Project are reaching further into the forest and combining multiple goals to protect communities, recreation, wildlife habitat, species biodiversity, cultural resources, and improve drought tolerance and water quality and quantity. The project balanced each of these goals on 300 acres of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park to the north and east of the highly used Spooner Lake recreation area. The fuel reduction work was immense and connected to other previously treated areas. Helicopter yarding of large trees was necessary throughout the project to minimize disturbance.
Incline Creek Restoration Phase V – Incline Village General Improvement District
This project is a capstone of four restoration projects on Third and Incline creeks in Incline Village, Nevada. The project reduces erosion from stream banks and improves the water quality of Lake Tahoe by reducing fine sediment transport and restoring flood plain terraces. Perhaps most notable is the return of spawning fish to the creek, which have been absent for decades.
###
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment. For additional information, contact Jeff Cowen, TRPA Public Information Officer, at 775-589-5278.
Dec 15, 2020
Lake Tahoe, CA/NV — The first of its kind Lake Tahoe Commemorative Coin was minted this month on historic Carson City Mint Press No. 1 and less than 300 of the limited-edition coins are still available for the public, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) said today.
Those who make tax-deductible donations of $125 or more to the Lake Tahoe Commemorative Coin Environmental Education Fund in partnership with the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation are eligible to receive this silver Lake Tahoe collector’s coin as a thank-you gift, according to TRPA.
The coin minting took place over several days at the Nevada State Museum. The historic Carson City Mint Press No. 1 was the first coin press used in the state for the U.S. Mint. Today, the press makes coins one at a time with assistance from skilled minters, according to the museum.
“I’m from Reno and visited the mint/museum many times as a child. This was a memorable day — for the mint and for this Nevadan,” a donor named Karen wrote in an email. “My favorite moment was when the gentleman who was running the press took the coin out, displayed it and handed it over to be seen.”
The coin has been engraved in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the bi-state partnership between Nevada and California that formed TRPA five decades ago. The cooperative effort to preserve and restore Lake Tahoe is unique in the United States and has made significant strides in protecting Lake Tahoe’s irreplaceable environment.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment. For additional information, contact Jeff Cowen, TRPA Public Information Officer, at 775-589-5278.
###
Dec 10, 2020
By Joanne S. Marchetta
We are ready for some glad tidings this holiday season. While we look forward to the spirit of generosity and warmth the season brings, many are also hoping the New Year will deliver a meaningful reset. Propelling ourselves forward and out of crisis will require fortitude and drive. The pending vaccine is a bright spot on the horizon, but there are other positive indicators for better days to come.
The pandemic has heightened our awareness of housing insecurities and shortages here and around the nation. Despite working from home most of this year, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has made real progress in affordable and workforce housing. The Tahoe Living Housing Initiative is creating incentives for small homes and accessory dwelling units, or home apartments, while also bringing forward local and regional plan amendments around density and parking standards to improve housing options and availability.
We were also able to partner with the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless to bring a crucial Project Homekey grant to South Shore that the coalition is using to purchase and convert three motels to safe housing for people living in our communities without shelter.
Another bright spot is the significant update TRPA is bringing forward to the Regional Transportation Plan. The 25-year plan will help achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of both states and alleviate traffic congestion in Tahoe’s highest used recreation corridors. And new coalitions are forming around a bi-state transportation consultation group working to prioritize projects and identify sustainable sources of funding to build them.
2021 will also bring us closer to controlling aquatic invasive weed populations from the Tahoe Keys to Crystal Bay that are harming the lake. A coordinated test project led by Tahoe Keys property owners could sample multiple methods in targeted areas of the Keys lagoons. The test project is bringing a committed coalition together to combat the worst infestation in the lake while carefully piloting the best methods available to control weeds around the entire lake.
Around sustainable recreation and visitation, new partnerships have emerged between recreation land managers, environmental educators, and destination marketing organizations who know visitors and the most effective ways to communicate with them. This year, trash, crowding, mask-wearing, and fire prevention brought these groups together in a profound way. Already this winter, the recreation working group is getting critical backcountry safety information from non-profits, athletes, and land managers out to the broadest audience of residents and visitors possible. With these new partnerships, destination marketing at Lake Tahoe could begin shifting toward destination management, a transition taking place in other resort communities around the world that unifies visitor management with marketing.
Most importantly, we cannot forget the slow and silent crisis happening every day brought on by climate change. Going forward, TRPA is confronting climate change and doubling down on greenhouse gas emission reductions. We have already begun bringing the best available science to bear on strategies to address the threats rising temperatures pose to forest health, water quality, invasive species, and biodiversity in the region. Even in addressing the planet’s greatest threat, there is hope.
To be sure, the arrival of a vaccine is our greatest hope of ending the pandemic. Yet we are in the midst of a near vertical climb in COVID cases with most hospitals at or near capacity. For now, we need to be cautiously optimistic and maintain the life-saving health practices that have by now become ritual. One lesson given to us by the virus is that we sometimes need to create our own bright spots. I encourage you to commit acts of kindness, spread tolerance, accept change, or bury a hatchet; these are not only the hallmarks of the season, these are habits we will need to create a fresh start and to continue bringing light to the darkness.
Wishing you a joyous, safe holiday and much brightness in the New Year.
— Joanne S. Marchetta is Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
