Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev. – Agencies unveiled a plan last week to address congestion and improve the recreation experience along the Emerald Bay corridor on the south shore, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).
The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Tahoe Transportation District, and TRPA invite public comment on the draft State Route 89 Recreation Corridor Management Plan through September. The plan is the result of more than two years of planning with over 15 project partners, hundreds of stakeholders, and thousands of public comments, according to the agencies.
The targeted corridor along California State Route 89 is a two-lane mountain highway that provides access to many of Lake Tahoe’s most popular recreation areas and to residential neighborhoods. The route is crowned by Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark and one of Lake Tahoe’s most popular and photographed locations. The corridor is lined by nearly 12 miles of undeveloped shoreline, beach access to popular recreation sites, and trailheads to popular mountain side attractions.
The popularity of the 89 corridor comes with traffic and travel issues that have been under study by Lake Tahoe agencies. The plan calls for frequent transit service to popular sites like Emerald Bay, parking management, public facility enhancements, and other infrastructure improvements. The draft State Route 89 Corridor Plan is currently available at www.trpa.gov/SR-89. In addition to previous stakeholder and public input opportunities, public webinars have been scheduled in the coming months.
Public Webinars
- Monday, August 3: Plan Overview
- Noon to 1:30pm (Draft Plan)
- Tuesday, September 22: Implementation steps
- 5:30 to 7:00 pm (Final Plan)
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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 Devin Middlebrook, Sustainability Program Manager, at (775) 589-5230 or dmiddlebrook@trpa.gov.
The mission of the U.S. Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
The Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) is a bi-state agency responsible for the management and implementation of safe, environmentally sound, multi-modal transportation projects and programs in the Lake Tahoe Region, including transit operations. TTD leads multi-jurisdictional infrastructure projects to make travel safer, improve access to recreation, and reduce traffic congestion and private car use. TTD focuses on transit’s pivotal role in improving air and water quality because more than 70 percent of the pollutants impacting Lake Tahoe’s clarity come from transportation system and built environment run-off. TTD has delivered numerous projects to help reduce environmental impacts and address the high demand residents and visitors place on the region’s transportation infrastructure, including transit solutions, roadway and safety enhancements, water quality improvements, and pedestrian/cyclist paths. For more information, please visit TahoeTransportation.org.