Funds roll in for South Tahoe bike trails

Money is coming from the state to help with South Lake Tahoe bike trails.

The California Tahoe Conservancy is receiving $1.928 million for a 1.8-mile segment of the South Tahoe Greenway Shared Use Trail. The Conservancy will use that money plus $2 million in local and matching funds to link the Sierra Tract and Bijou neighborhoods to Al Tahoe Boulevard.

The first part of the Greenway was laid this summer. One day it will go from Meyers to Stateline.

South Lake Tahoe is receiving $2.145 million for the Al Tahoe Boulevard Safety and Mobility Enhancement Project. The project area extends from the intersection of Al Tahoe and Johnson boulevards to Highway 50. It will upgrade road crossings and add Class I and Class II trails to improve access around South Tahoe Middle School.

The money is part of the California Transportation Commission’s 114 biking and walking projects that in all are valued at more than $262 million.

“Caltrans has a strategic goal to triple cycling and double walking and transit trips statewide by 2020,” Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty said in a statement. “We are committed to investing in projects that expand the availability of bike and pedestrian access throughout the state.”