My View: Notes from the Front Row ™
Local Musings
Understanding Tahoe’s Summer Crowding
One of the issues we hear most frequently during the summer is traffic and crowding around Lake Tahoe. And for good reason, it gets busy. But it’s important to understand where that crowding is coming from.
There are essentially four groups using Tahoe: year-round residents, second-home owners, overnight visitors, and day visitors. Too often, they are lumped together as “tourists,” even though their impacts differ greatly.
Tourism promotion organizations are often blamed for attracting more people. The reality is that these organizations primarily target overnight visitors, people staying in hotels and vacation rentals. In fact, overnight visitation has softened in recent years as lodging prices have increased. What hasn’t softened is day visitation. Day visitors don’t need advertising to know Tahoe is here.
The Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan estimates more than four million annual day visitors to the Tahoe Basin. Communities surrounding Tahoe, including Folsom, Washoe County, Douglas County, and Storey County, have experienced significant population growth. Tahoe is an easy drive and a natural recreation destination for these residents. Add increasingly hot summer temperatures, and Tahoe becomes an obvious escape. It’s crowded for sure. Understanding who is coming and why is essential to managing Tahoe more effectively.
The Evolving Sound of South Shore
One of the more interesting changes many of us have observed is the continuing evolution of music here on South Shore. Music has always been part of the South Shore experience, going back to the glory days of casino entertainment. But in recent years, the range and availability of live music throughout the community has grown significantly.
From performances at Valhalla to casino concerts, local venues and restaurants, community events, and the Tahoe Blue Event Center, there is now an incredible variety of music available almost every night during the summer and increasingly throughout the year. The creativity has been amazing to watch.
Music reflects the cultural energy and personality of South Shore, creating places for residents to gather and giving visitors another way to experience Tahoe. While our spectacular natural environment and outdoor recreation will always define us, a vibrant music scene adds another dimension, one rooted in local culture, creativity, and connection.
Before We Ban, Let’s Figure Out How to Make It Work
I’ve been watching with interest some of the recent efforts to ban activities here in the Tahoe Basin. In the past several weeks, I’ve seen proposals involving electric mountain bikes on Forest Service trails and wakeboarding on the lake. We need to knock it off.
Certainly, there are legitimate issues surrounding both. There can be conflicts between e-bike riders and other trail users, just as there can be concerns about how wakeboarding affects other lake users and the environment. Those issues deserve serious discussion. But I’m not a big believer in starting with a ban.
One thing we’ve learned over many years of regional planning in Tahoe is that living and recreating here requires compromise. We have competing interests, different perspectives, environmental considerations, and limited resources. Working through those differences can be complicated and messy, and rarely does everyone get exactly what they want.
There may ultimately be situations where restrictions, or even a ban, are necessary. But that shouldn’t be our starting point. Our first question should be: How can we make this work? Banning something may be the easiest answer. Finding a way to make it work is harder. In Tahoe, I think we should try the harder approach first.
Just my opinion.
It’s a Wrap: Election Season Is Coming
It won’t be long. Once Labor Day is behind us, election season for the South Lake Tahoe City Council will begin to heat up. My guess is that this could be a transition election. With three seats up for consideration, I wouldn’t be surprised to see ten or more candidates competing for them. That should make for an important discussion about the city’s future direction.
There’s no question in my mind that some changes are needed at the City Council level. The Council needs to operate more effectively and efficiently, with greater focus on the issues that matter most to the community. Just as importantly, I think we all would like to see greater courtesy and respect, both among Council members and toward the public.
As election season unfolds, I’ll have more to say about what I believe South Lake Tahoe should be looking for in its next City Council. This could be an important election for the future of our community.
Carl Ribaudo is a columnist, consultant, speaker, and writer based in South Lake Tahoe. He can be reached at carl@smgonline.net.
