Cantilever walk to be built at S. Tahoe’s ‘convention center’
By Kathryn Reed
Normally before construction projects that impact pedestrians begin the first thing to be built is walkways for them. That didn’t happen in 2007 when ground was broken at the would-be convention center in South Lake Tahoe. Instead, walkers and cyclists are next to traffic without any barrier.
City Manager Tony O’Rourke is appalled this was allowed to happen.
With the project stalled in bankruptcy court and projections construction will not begin until 2013 at the soonest, he wants to improve the area even if the bankrupt developer won’t. The City Council this month approved the expenditure of nearly $200,000 to build a cantilever walkway at the site next building season.
This time next year people won't have to walk in the street next to the fenced bankrupt convention center project. Photo/Kathryn Reed
The council on a 3-1 vote went along with this $183,000 idea presented to them by Jim Marino, the city’s assistant engineer. Councilman Bruce Grego was absent from the Nov. 16 meeting. Mayor Kathay Lovell voted no without explanation.
The money to pay for the project comes from taxes being collected by the city’s Redevelopment Agency from the site via property tax dollars.
“We need the cantilever because of the elevation change,” Marino explained.
Marino said if the same project the city and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approved for the 11-plus acre site at the state line were built, the new sidewalk would be taken out to bring the first floor decking to street level.
“It solves two problems,” Councilman Bill Crawford said. “We get a little bit better physical appearance and it’s a safer place for pedestrians, and we possibly avoid trouble down the road.”
Lovell questioned whether the cantilever design would put the city more at-risk in terms of liability.
“The cantilever should not increase liability. We can get design immunity,” City Attorney Patrick Enright told her.
Staff will have to work with Caltrans to get the necessary right-of-way issues worked out. With the cantilever plan, it means getting rid of the concrete barriers now dividing the fence and highway.
The schedule is have the design and engineering done by mid-January, Caltrans permits in hand by mid-April, bids open in May, project awarded June 6, and construction done July 26.
What a waste of money in my opinion. You have signs directing people to the other side of the street. You should be ticketing those who don’t and take that money down to the Y or elsewhere to keep our sidewalks clean for the locals who have to walk down HWY 50 everyday. The walkway will more than likely be torn up when construction restarts anyway. And don’t we want more tourists to stay on the side of HWY 50 with all the shops currently existing. Am I missing something here? It seems we are rewarding jaywalkers with money better spent elsewhere.
Bob – you just make too much sense while the powers that be just don’t have any sense.
So we have to raise taxes to build this when Randy Lane and his development company should pay the bill. If the council can pass a resolution to put a lien on a business owners property if they don’t remove the snow why can’t they put a lien on the hole to recover the money. Here is a good reason why they should have had a performance bond. The business that will benefit most is McP’s and Harvey’s but Randy Lane should pay for it all out of the money he kept, stole, didn’t return and screwe# us out of, $19 Million, when he sold 13 units to a Walnut Creek investor. Good luck on getting a design immunity from anyone as this will have to be Handicap accessable and that nut job from grASS Valley is just waiting in the wings to slap a lawsuit on the city. A larger barrier would be cheaper and we could install cameras for the idiots that go around and make 10K on Americas Funniest Videos.
I vote skibum for best letter of the day!
Whatever 183K gets spent on, should be permanent, so be careful what gets put there, make sure it fits the end stage of all possibilities for this site.
183k for a temporary block-long (at best) walkway is ridiculous! 40-60K would be spendy, but 183K, I’m already suspicious of anyone who becomes involved in this project.
Make it easy,sink some 8 in. steel post in the ground,weld,some guard rail,weld some cross beams to some hangers ,buy 3 used bowling alley lanes,rivet them to the steel hangers,put down some granite grip tape,presto,nice walk way that last a long time.
Don’t use union workers,locals will do fine.