TRPA recognizes projects helping environment

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency this week announced and recognized award recipients for its annual Best in the Basin program.

This is the 25th year for the Best in the Basin program. TRPA created the program to recognize and showcase projects that demonstrate exceptional planning, design, and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

Winners are:

Environmental Improvement Program/Public Project Category:

·         Bijou Erosion Control Project: South Lake Tahoe and multiple partner agencies created this area-wide stormwater system to capture, treat, and infiltrate urban runoff from the 42-acre Bijou Commercial Core.

·         Harrison Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project: South Lake Tahoe and private property owners completed this comprehensive project to overhaul Harrison and Riverside avenues with improved roadways, sidewalks, bike trails, parking, landscaping, and street lighting.

·         Highway 50 Water Quality Improvement Project: Caltrans upgraded nearly two miles of highway between Lake Tahoe Airport and the Y intersection in South Lake Tahoe.

·         Lake Tahoe Boulevard Enhancement Project: El Dorado County and partner agencies built 1.7-miles of Class 1 bike path along the west side of Lake Tahoe Boulevard from Viking Road to Sawmill Road.

·         Highway 207/Kingsbury Grade Reconstruction Project: Nevada Department of Transportation overhauled this highway corridor to reduce erosion, improve water quality, and install wider road shoulders for bicyclists.

Water Quality Improvement Category:

·         Kingswood 500 Tank/120 Booster Pump Demolition and Griff Creek Restoration Project: North Tahoe Public Utility District removed an aging 500,000 gallon water tank, booster pump station, and access road from a stream environment zone on Griff Creek and restored the floodplain and native vegetation.

·         Smith BMP Retrofit Project: Basile management practice and property owner James Smith improved a compacted dirt driveway and parking area at this lakefront home in Tahoma.

Building and General Construction Category:

·         SUP Tahoe – South Shore Bikes Project: David Goldman Environmental Architecture and property owners Jessica Howitt and Brandon Miller remodeled a blighted and abandoned Chinese restaurant on Highway 89 into an attractive new home for this recreation business and its bike and stand up paddleboard shops.

Defensible Space/Forest Health Category:

·         Incline Pines Homeowners Association Defensible Space Project: Homeowners in this Incline Village neighborhood partnered with Rockwood Tree Service and Defensible Space Specialists and the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District to create defensible space through the entire neighborhood.

Sustainability/Community Benefit Category

·         Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation Community House Project: Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Placer County, and many community partners overhauled a blighted and abandoned hotel in Kings Beach into a Community House for social services previously scattered around the North Shore.