Cyclists plot South Shore path improvements
By Kathryn Reed
The South Shore cycling community has big plans for this year that involve allocating money for trails and signage, as well getting jurisdictions to coordinate improvements to better leverage the limited dollars that are available.
Shay Navarro, head of the Bicycle Advisory Committee for the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Joint Powers Authority, on Jan. 29 presented her group’s goals for the year to the board.
The three-member board is comprised of reps from South Lake Tahoe (Austin Sass), El Dorado County (Sue Novasel) and Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District (Victor Babbitt). The men are new to the board, with this being their first meeting. The board is tasked with overseeing the expenditure of Measure S/R funds.
Last year’s pilot program to remove snow from the city’s class 1 trails barely happened because of lack of white stuff, so the money is being used this season.
With $22,000 left over from the Sawmill bridge decking project because the bid came in lower than expected, the bike committee is recommending that money be used to plow paths in the county that go from Viking Way to Meyers.
Novasel said the county’s department of transportation has questions about whether that path meandering through the woods (paralleling Lake Tahoe Boulevard) could sustain a vehicle regularly on it without damaging the asphalt, as well as questioning the need for snow stakes. She said a resolution won’t happen this winter.
It is estimated there will be $65,000 from the measures for bike-related improvements this year. While the board agreed with the committee’s priority list, final adoption will come in the summer when the exact figure is available. The preliminary list is necessary so committee members may work with city and county staff to get the projects on their calendars. Much of the this will be ironed out between the committee members and staff from the city and county at the March meeting of the bike group.
El Dorado County officials have concerns about plowing the path that parallels Lake Tahoe Boulevard. Photo/LTN
The list in order of the bike committee’s priorities include:
· Adding money to ensure completion of the class 1 segment along Rufus Allen Boulevard from the library to vector control and from Rufus Allen to the senior center. This includes the planned rehabilitation of paths between the bridge east of Meeks Lumber and Edgewood Circle and between Lakeview Commons and the Alta Mira site.
· To decrease user conflicts, painting a yellow line down the Linear Park and Harrison Avenue paths is recommended. Widening Linear Park is also a suggestion.
· Improve the pavement on paths at 15th Street, community playfields, and boardwalk by Lake Tahoe Golf Course.
· As the city does work on Sierra Boulevard, create an extension from there to the class 1 trail behind Scusa restaurant and Fitness Evolution. “This is perfect timing because they plan to rip out the entire parking lot after the snow season,” Sass said.
· Add green paint in the area of Eloise Avenue and Dunlap Street in the city when crews are striping the area to improve bike safety. This would be a pilot program. Green paint is a growing trend to help vehicles and bikes coexist on the same roads.
· Increase signage where appropriate. They could give directions and mileage to key areas, as is the case with other signs the committee has funded.
· While Measure R/S funds cannot be used to repave a street, the committee is urging the city to fix the dilapidated Eloise Avenue because it is a major route for cyclists and the surface is more suitable for a mountain bike than a road bike.
· The committee wants to ensure intersection improvements included in the Tahoe Valley Area Plan are sensitive to the needs of cyclists.
· The county is asked to realign the Pat Lowe trail for better access to Pioneer Trail and Highway 50 with funds from the On-Our-Way grant.
· It is suggested the city extend a path from Melba Drive to Lake Tahoe Airport so cyclists have an alternative to getting to that facility, which doubles as city hall, without having to ride on Highway 50.
· The group wants the city to apply for bike-friendly status, with the goal of getting a higher rating than bronze as has been awarded in the past.
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In other action:
· Babbitt brought up the likelihood the park in Meyers will need more money than the $50,000 it currently receives via the voter-approved measures. Bike committee member Chuck Nelson pointed out this is not what voters approved and believes it would be illegal to do so. Novasel said the matter can be further investigated and discussed at the next meeting.
Few occasional bicycle riders and almost no pedestrians understand that, on bike trails as well as public roads, vehicle operators (read “bicyclists”) should ride to the right, and pedestrians should walk facing traffic (read “to the left”). Unlike popular bike trails in many other areas, Tahoe bike trails have never been posted with explanations and both close calls and actual accidents serve as the only reminders. How about finally getting some signs?
copper: yes, this needs to be more blatantly illustrated, for reasons you point out. i have noticed, too, that the bike paths have become dog-walking hotspots, this creating a more hazardous environment for the intended users, not to mention the feces…
Simple free brochure-like maps should be available for residents and visitors alike that show all of these bike paths in detail. As a visitor, I’m not sure where some of them are, and it would be better to make them all visible on a portable map than force internet searches to find them all. This should be a part of every budget for the bike paths.
Not…Simple free brochure-like maps should be available..
Upkeep is always the ‘problem’…it’s not the initial cost that usually derails a project. All these unmentioned extra’s add up big time.
Bike paths usually share with pedestrians! Courtesy from both users is required. Not too many signs please – creates “sign pollution”.
Brochures equal trash. Permanent trailhead markers with maps like the USFS uses might be a better idea.
Highlandwoods is a particularly confusing area for these bicyclists….seriously!…they ride around and around looking for THE BIKE ROUTE. On a busy day bumper to bumper
To: “Not Born on the Bayou”
Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition’s “Lake Tahoe Bikeways Map” shows the bike paths, bike lanes and bike routes for the whole Tahoe/Truckee Area; the map has been out since 2007 and is updated every 2-3 years. The “Lake Tahoe Bikeways Map” can be printed from the on-line version on the LTBC website (www.tahoebike.org – look for the “Where to Ride” links), and you can get a hard-copy (they are free) at most of the local bicycle shops and visitor centers in the Tahoe/Truckee Area (ask if you don’t see them – they might be behind the counter, and they can contact LTBC to get a new supply if they are out of them). Also, a limited supply of the latest edition was delivered to the non-local bicycle shops throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada areas in August 2014 – you might still be able to find a copy of the map at some of the non-local shops. If you don’t want to bother going to a bicycle shop to get a copy of the map, everyone who joins LTB as new member (the membership fees are nominal) gets a hard-copy of the map in the mail as a membership perk. Or, better yet, you can show your commitment to helping the Tahoe/Truckee Area become a more bicycle friendly place by joining LTBC just so you can help us continue to make it happen (and you’ll still get that free hard-copy of the map in the mail when you join!)