Tahoe counties to harness pedal power

Nevada County’s winding, narrow roads, with little to no shoulders, inhibit a number of would-be bicyclists from taking to the street, but state funding now could provide relief.

Supervisors adopted an updated version of the county’s bicycle master plan last week, making the county eligible for some of the $5 million from the state’s bicycle transportation account.

While much of the county’s plan update focused on the western county, county planners integrated Truckee’s recent update of the trails and bikeways master plan into the wider county plan.

“What that will do is, by having the two plans consistent with one another, it will make our projects eligible for state and federal funding,” said Truckee Public Works Director Dan Wilkins.

Wilkins said the Truckee River Legacy Trail would be the most likely project the town would go after that funding for. After supervisors approved the Nevada County plan, one bicycling lobbyist praised its vision.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” said Janelle Black of the Alliance for People Powered Transportation, a group that promotes bicycling.

Black helped rally the 144 bicyclists who filled out a survey for the plan.

Placer plannin Rather than one overarching county plan, Placer County has bicycle plans by region integrated into its community plans, said Vance Kimbrell, planner with Placer County Parks. In eastern Placer County, the two regional plan areas are Martis Valley and Tahoe Basin, Kimbrell said. Because those plans don’t follow the same patterns as Nevada County’s, they typically do not go after the same funding, Kimbrell said. “The California Tahoe Conservancy and the North Tahoe Resort Association have been assisting in trail funding,” Kimbrell said. Placer County is also working with the town of Truckee, making connections between Truckee and Placer County along Highways 89 and 267, said Truckee Public Works Director Dan Wilkins.

Third commute

More than one-third of those surveyed use a bicycle to commute to work. Most of them cited concerns about limited paths and bike lanes as the main reason for not riding.

The other major concern was “driver-related safety associated with traffic volumes, speeds and failure to yield or share the road.”

The state money is earmarked for three types of bicycle projects, including bike pathways, striped lanes in existing roadways to separate bicycles from cars, and signs alerting motorists to share the road with bicyclists.

“When there is no shoulder, it can get super scary,” said Brian Mendiola, who works at the bike shop Xtreme Outfitters in Grass Valley and competes in mountain bike races nationally. He knows some bicyclists who have been hit by cars and others who won’t ride because of the limited bike lanes.

“It’s a big reason why a majority of people don’t ride,” Mendiola said.

“One issue is maintenance and keeping glass and debris out of the routes we have,” said Dan Landon, executive director of the county’s transportation

commission, who starting riding a year and a half ago and rode in the Death Ride this summer.

<i>— The Sierra Sun’s Greyson Howard contributed to this report</i>

Check It Out To see Nevada County’s bicycle master plan, visit the transportation commission Web site at www.nctc.ca.gov/reports.htm. To find out more about Placer County bicycle maps, contact the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency at 823-4030.