Residents, second homeowners, business owners, visitors, and employees — we can all agree that peak traffic congestion in our busy resort region has a big impact on our quality of life. Traffic has long been a challenge in our region. Caltrans counts indicate that the average daily traffic entering/exiting Tahoe on SR 89 and SR 267 from the north totaled 24,800 vehicles in 2022 (the most recent data available), which is only a 7% increase over the volume of 23,100 way back in 1994. A common, but not so simple, question given this longstanding problem is, “Why can’t we just fix it?”

There are three key reasons why we cannot simply build a road system without traffic problems. First, traffic volumes vary greatly between typical and peak conditions. Summer daily traffic on SR 89 just north of Olympic Valley Road is 22% higher on a peak day than an average summer day (17,600 versus 14,500). Winter daily traffic is 55% higher at peak than the winter average (19,100 vs 17,600). And there are relatively few days with particularly high traffic volumes. For instance, traffic on the 10^th highest winter day is 16,900, 13% lower than the peak. Put another way, 13% of the total roadway capacity needed to accommodate all existing traffic on a peak day would be needed only on nine days per year or 3% of all days. Providing this peak capacity would be an inefficient use of resources.

Second, the roadway widening needed to avoid peak congestion would degrade our environment. While strategic bottleneck improvements such as the Tahoe City “bypass” can help address specific issues, we can all agree that paving paradise to expand general traffic lanes on long highways is not what we would like to see as residents or as visitors. The limited roadways resulting from our mountain topography also make them inherently susceptible to minor incidents (or poor choices as to where to put on chains!).

Third, the effect of “induced travel demand” indicates that expanding auto traffic capacity on our congested roadways would encourage an expansion in auto travel. Today, many people choose to shift their auto trips to avoid peak times, choose other resort destinations, and increasingly are choosing to shift to shared transit (such as seen in the growth of skier intercept shuttle ridership). Adding more general travel lanes would induce these travelers to add to peak traffic demand. We would thus be “chasing our tail” by expanding auto capacity.

As we cannot build our way out of the problem, we need to focus on how best to manage mobility issues. Fortunately, there are available tools that are proving to be effective. A key strategy is to manage our mobility networks to provide non-auto travel options that allow travelers to have a better day than if they travel by car. Aided by the resorts’ shift to parking reservations, more and more travelers are learning that using shuttle services from an intercept lot makes for a better ski day than attempting to drive directly to the resorts.

The strong demand for the Tahoe Transportation District’s Sand Harbor shuttle service is evidence of the viability of summer shuttle services. Parking management is also starting to shift travel patterns in the Kings Beach area and is serving as an example for possible expansion to other areas. In addition, TART Connect is now an attractive option for many residents as well as visitors to access transit buses or travel directly to destinations. Finally, expanded bicycle and pedestrian facilities (as well as winter snow removal) enhances the viability of non-motorized options for local trips. If we can support these local solutions with expanded options of reaching Tahoe by non-auto means, we can make the shift to less auto dependence.

All this management, of course, requires ongoing funding. Even in the best of times, state and federal funding for ongoing expenses is limited, and the unique needs of a resort community often do not fit well with funding requirements. Local funding that can be directed through local decisionmakers and public input are therefore key in managing our transportation network. In particular, Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) funds are crucial sources to achieve better mobility with less impacts to the environment and quality of life.

In sum, experience both locally and in other similar areas indicates that traffic delays are an inherent element of a vibrant mountain community. While we cannot build our way out of the problem, management strategies funded at least in part through local sources can improve our quality of life, environment, and economy.

Gordon Shaw, PE is a 32-year resident of the West Shore, with civil engineering degrees from Purdue and Stanford Universities. He has authored many transportation studies in the Tahoe/Truckee region and in other similar mountain resort communities in Colorado, Utah, New Hampshire, and California. He is on the Board of the Truckee/North Tahoe Transportation Management Association and Sierra Community House and has previously served on NTRAC and the NTCA CAP committee