Emerald Bay Transit Pilot Program launches this summer, prompting parking changes promoting new shuttle
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Emerald Bay Transit pilot program will be in operation from July 15 to October 15 this year, with the aim of mitigating the dangerous and chaotic parking that often happens on the shoulder of SR-89. Caltrans will be putting up signage and bollards to prevent illegal parking and encourage people to utilize shuttles which will run from Camp Richardson or Tahoma to Emerald Bay.
Data collection for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Tahoe Transportation District, and U.S. Forest Service’s report on the SR-89 Corridor Management Plan identified Emerald Bay as the most popular attraction in the corridor, with 1.6 million annual vehicle trips recorded in 2014. But because the highway runs through two major recreational areas, people trying to park poses major congestion issues for the road—the “single biggest transportation associated with the SR-89 recreation corridor” according to the report.
In March, District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine brought together several agencies including Caltrans, TRPA, the city of South Lake Tahoe, Placer County, El Dorado County, Tahoe Transportation District, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the Tahoe Fund to discuss plans to manage the Emerald Bay stretch of the highway.
John O’Connell, Caltrans public information officer for District 3, said, “Our maintenance department is going to install some no parking signs and bollards along the shoulders of State Route 89 around Emerald Bay to prevent illegal parking and encourage people to take the new shuttle from Camp Richardson or Tahoma.” The California Highway Patrol will be enforcing these new signs that will prevent parking from Inspiration Point to D.L. Bliss State Park, except for the parking lots at Inspiration Point, Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm.
The shuttles will have a fee which has yet to be decided. They will run approximately every hour on weekdays and every 15 minutes on weekends, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A naming contest for the shuttle will be held by the Lake Tahoe Visitors’ Authority, The League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the Tahoe Fund.
Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.