Imagine biking all around the lake and never having to pedal the narrow, perilous roads of the East Shore, with speeding cars on one side and a sheer drop to the lake on the other. Well, imagine no more. The Tahoe Transportation District has taken the lead on building the Stateline to Stateline Bikeway starting with two phases: the North Demonstration Project, from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, and another in South Shore. The public is invited to give input on the East Shore project on Oct. 5 at 6 pm. at The Chateau in Incline Village.
The goal of the Stateline to Stateline Bikeway, a 30-mile bike corridor between the Nevada state line in Crystal Bay and the casino core in Stateline, Nev., is to improve motorized, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic safety and access to recreation areas along the congested East Shore. The proposed project includes approximately 3 miles of shared-use path and a sidewalk on the west side of State Route 28 between Lakeshore Boulevard and the north end of Hidden Beach, as well as trailhead parking and a drop-off/turnaround area just north of Tunnel Creek; the area could include minimal parking.
‘The reasons for the bikeway are safety, recreational access, reducing dependency on the automobile, reducing air quality impacts, and creating access to public lands,’ said Alfred Knotts, project manager for the Tahoe Transportation District.
The first section of the overall project, the 3.2 mile-South Demonstration Project between the Stateline casino core and Round Hill Pines Beach, has been approved and construction is scheduled for the summer of 2012. The connection between the South and North Demonstration Projects and between Incline Village and Crystal Bay are undergoing additional planning. Knotts said the TTD hopes to start building the East Shore bike path in 2013.
The TTD, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Federal Highway Administration, and U.S. Forest Service are hosting the Oct. 5 public meeting to provide the public with the opportunity to learn more about the project, and to express ideas and comment on the potential environmental effects of the two proposed alternatives.
Knotts will provide an overview of the project and efforts to date. Nanette Hansel from Ascent Environmental Inc. will review preliminary renderings of the proposed alignments and potential options for the corridors’ improvements and the environmental studies under development.
Written comments can be submitted through Oct. 21. Comments should be sent to Brian Judge, acting assistant branch chief, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Post Office Box 5310, Stateline, Nev., 89449-5310.
For more information about the Nevada Stateline-to-Stateline North Demonstration Project, visit nvtahoebikeway.com or contact the Tahoe Transportation District at (775) 589-5500.
