“The bypass will kill downtown Truckee,” people complained some twenty-odd years ago. I lived in Truckee back then and remember how contentious that topic was. Some felt it was going to be the end of our historic downtown. Others saw it as a way to reduce congestion.
Sitting outside having lunch at Moody’s Bistro, Bar & Beats last month, I watched folks attempt to navigate our three-way stop downtown. Cars lined up, some honking at each other. Pedestrians crossed at the intersection, dodging cars. People vied for a coveted parking spot along the historic storefronts.
Even with the metered parking and highway bypass, downtown Truckee looked a bit maxed out. As I sat having lunch, I wondered what it would look like today if not for that bypass. Hundreds, if not thousands, of additional cars streaming through on their way to North Lake Tahoe. I’m not sure our downtown roads or the local community could handle that kind of load today.
A little earlier in the month I noticed another interesting change in Truckee traffic patterns. I had decided to celebrate this Fourth of July by riding my bicycle from Glenshire to Donner Lake and back.
I got an early start, hoping to ride through downtown Truckee and catch the beginning of the parade.
As I cruised through town, just ahead of the parade, it was hard not to notice the stream of people coming in from every road and path. It looked like many lines of ants converging on one major ant hill. The crowd seemed larger than 20 years ago. As I got on the Legacy Trail a steady line of people were coming toward me, all headed downtown.
Twenty years ago Truckee didn’t have this elaborate system of paved paths. Again, I tried to imagine what it would be like if all these people with children, dogs, and bicycles were on the main roads coming to see the parade. I would wager that the Legacy Trail, as well as the other paved paths in the greater Truckee area, today provide a much safer environment for people to get to Truckee’s fun stuff.
I am probably the only one who’ll compare the highway bypass and Truckee’s paved path system, but I believe both were critical in the growth and safety of our community.
Supporting the freeway bypass and construction of the Legacy Trail, albeit in hindsight, may make some see me as pro-development.
Well, when it comes to growth, I believe two things: One, as long as California has a strong economy people will flock to the Golden State. And two, as long as Truckee is beautiful people will want to visit or live here.
Sure, we can’t let the pressures of California’s masses overwhelm our little community and ruin its natural beauty. But, try as we might, people will come here. Heck, I’m one of them, having moved back after 20 years.
We can either be run over by an increase in visitors and residents, or we can continue to think of new and creative ways to manage the flow.
One of my favorite communities to get around in has to be Eugene, Oreg. It has 46 miles of shared-use paths, 187 miles of on-street bicycle lanes, and 71 miles of signed bikeways in 43.74 square miles (compared to Truckee’s 33.7 square miles). It also has interstate freeways and many main roads to help those in the community move around town. Eugene is known for easy travel from home to college, or trail to coffee shop.
However, Eugene is not a mountain town. A better comparison might be Vail, Colo. Vail has a paved path that runs from one end of town to the other, something Truckee cannot boast. Vail’s path also extends to the summit at over 10,000 feet, a challenging vertical that brings people in from all over to ride it. Extending our paved Legacy Trail all the way to Squaw Valley and further to Tahoe would do the same.
Expanding the Legacy Trail this way, and maybe even connecting Deerfield Drive from Highway 89 to Donner Lake, would provide alternate routes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. It would create safer travel and a better mountain experience for locals and visitors alike.
Continuing to improve road and sidewalk conditions, like our downtown project, and aggressive repaving efforts would go a long way toward making our roads easier to navigate for people driving cars, riding bikes, or walking. Even though we all complain about the construction and travel delays, we need to continue to push for this development.
Proactively seeking improved roads, parking, and pathways will need to remain top of mind for town planners and the community at large to keep us ahead of the growth we’re likely to see in the decades to come.
Next time something as big and nasty as a bypass idea comes up, or local groups seek money to expand paved trails, history will allow me to think more positively about these future possibilities.
