Meyers on road to revitalize community

By Kathryn Reed

MEYERS – Make it look pretty and be functional were the overwhelming sentiments of people who want to make Meyers be more than it is today.

Since the last meeting in February about the future of this South Shore enclave the advisory board has come up with a draft area plan for Meyers. Comments about the document were sought Sept. 11. The deadline to comment is Oct. 11.

The five main areas are: land use, environmental conservation, implementation, transportation and recreation. Twenty-five projects have been indentified. On Wednesday people were asked to pick their top three.

One item that keeps coming up is having some sort of sign to let people know they are entering Meyers. It could be placed at the bottom of Echo Summit headed west or possibly at the corner of highways 50 and 89 to capture more people.

Making the sign interactive would also embrace Meyers’ theme of being the gateway to all things recreation. A swing could part of it and definitely the ability to climb on it.

Others suggested the sign be made out of old skis or have something to do with Snowshoe Thompson.

When it comes to deciding what to do with the area, many want to remove the bug station and make the rights-of-way along the highway narrower so the area looks more inviting for people to stop instead of speed through.

Caltrans is supposed to put in two sidewalks on Highway 50 next summer – one by Pioneer Trail and the other near the bug station. This will be the first step in linking both sides of the highway in a safer manner.

Cluster parking that would tie into the trails is another idea.

Putting in bike paths that connect to Washoe Meadow State Park and Tahoe Paradise Park as well as the commercial core have been repeatedly mentioned.

Doing more with the community park was talked about. Making it more inviting, less dumpy and turning it into an area to have community events are suggestions.

Letting people know about the trails – where they are and where they go – was encouraged.

Tapping into the history of the area was broached, especially with the Celio ranch having just celebrated its 150 anniversary.

Putting in low level bollard lights to make the area more friendly in the dark, adding landscaping, and possibly putting in stampede concrete in the center of the highway are other ideas.

Once all of the comments are submitted and environmental review is done the final plan will come out. The goal is for the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board to take action on the Meyers Area Plan in the first quarter of 2014.

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Notes:

• The draft Meyers Area Plan is online.

• Comments may be submitted online via the above website or to Adam Lewandowski at alewandowski@trpa.org or P.O. Box 5310, Stateline, NV 89449.

• The deadline to submit comments is Oct. 11.