On the road to recovery

Tahoe Daily Tribune

July 27, 1997
By Teresa Mills
Bonanza Staff Writer

Among the many ways to keep Tahoe's water clear is to keep its air clear.

This issue was emphasized during the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum where President Bill Clinton committed to measures that will reduce congestion and cut transportation-related pollution of the air and water.

While 3.5 million people visit Lake Tahoe every year, environmentalists, businesses and residents struggle over how to strike a balance between the basin's growing economy and its threatened environment.

On Saturday, Clinton and Vice President Al Gore announced that the administration may have come up with some solutions to this continuously clashing issue of too many people, with too many vehicles, in too little space.

"The economy is the environment and the environment is the economy," Gore said in his opening comments.

Clinton pointed out that people's habits need to change before air quality can improve.

"A lot of decisions need to be made by you ... there are more people living here, driving around the lake with emissions and riding on the lake with emissions. I think the next step is to convince people that they can fully enjoy the lake and all of its surroundings and still change their habits in some ways that don't necessarily cost a lot of money. I think this needs to definitely be put on the table ... I'm wondering what you think of the prospects of this happening?" Clinton asked Werner Schuster, president of Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, who was on the forum panel.

"I think the prospects are good ... we need to find ways of reducing the use of private automobiles no matter how convenient it is. If we can come up with a convenient alternative and an attractive alternative, we should get there in a responsible time frame."

Among actions the administration plans to take are:

• At the South Shore of the lake, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation will award money to implement the Coordinated Transit System. This CTS will coordinate and combine operation of mass transit vehicles owned by various public and private entities serving visitors at Lake Tahoe.
• On the east side, the department of transportation and the U.S. Forest Service will evaluate a new shuttle service for Lake Tahoe beachgoers. The East Shore Beach Shuttle, which began operating July 12, is designed to address erosion, congestion and safety hazards along State Route 28.
• On the North Shore, the administration supports attempts to provide $1.5 million in department of transportation money and the U.S. Forest Service will provide up to 60 acres of land for a transit center to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
• The department of transportation will provide $6 million to pay for work at Reno/Tahoe International Airport to repair the crosswind runway damaged during the recent winter floods. This will ensure that this critical gateway is open for travelers heading to Lake Tahoe.
• The United States Postal Service will help Lake Tahoe and its residents by extending home and clustered box mail service to communities on the West Shore and by replacing its current antiquated fleet of diesel-powered trucks with cleaner-burning compressed natural gas vehicles. The Postal Service, which is an independent agency, is taking these steps after listening to comments during forum-related workshops.