Aug 9, 2017:
Tahoe Daily Tribune

Bicycles are a kind of miracle. One of the most efficient machines ever designed, they run on burritos as fuel, produce no pollution, make people healthier when they ride on them, and they help fight traffic. But had you considered how getting more people to choose to ride a bike instead of driving their car can help protect Lake Tahoe?

The most recent State of the Lake report by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center shows that we're still fighting hard in a year-to-year struggle to protect the lake and restore its famous clarity. Roads and other paved surfaces are some of the most significant sources of pollution that degrades lake clarity, and auto traffic and its pollution only add to the problems.

That's why we're so excited about the continued improvements at Tahoe that make it safer and easier than ever to ride a bike as a fun and healthy way to get around our communities. Every local jurisdiction continues to add new bike paths and bike lanes, and our regional and area plans call for making our communities easier and safer get around on bike and on foot. We also seem to see more and more residents and visitors choosing bikes to get to work, to school or to recreation destinations.

Read more

The following signed on to this guest column: Rebecca Bryson, co-chair of Community Mobility Group; Curtis Fong vice president of Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition; Jesse Patterson, deputy director of League to Save Lake Tahoe; Steve Teshara, chair of South Shore Transportation Management Association; Heidi Hill Drum, executive director of Tahoe Prosperity Center; and Jaime Wright, executive director of Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association.

Photo: Adam Jensen / Tribune File Photo