California/Nevada 2022-23 Tahoe Traffic & Parking

[MarkG]

I was partially tongue and cheek to keep up with the brainstorming. Lot of people would need to get to their houses/condos too.

Realistically, we're going to have to buy/lease slopeside property or wait until enough people bail on Palisades and start going to SB/Rose/N* etc. Eventually people will stop buying IKON and the traffic/parking will come back to homeostasis. Just going to suck waiting for that to happen.

 

[Alexzn]

N* apparently has the same sort of traffic issues, but less because they have overflow parking at Truckee airport, so in theory they should not be parking out.

There was some sort of public hearing where a switchable third lane for transit vehicles was proposed for the 89. That seems to be the most realistic solution. According to Sierra Sun, Squaw (Dee Byrne) was there and offered a sympathetic "we hear you" voice and said that they are thinking about ideas or something along these lines, very non-committal. P.S. Can't resist saying that at this point their ideas seem to be limited to selling more breakfast items to the early arrival crowd .

 

[John Webb]

Here’s a new one ! They closed main parking at Alpine today 7 to 8 am to shoot giant arrows.
What does this do to the 7am parking arms race !

PT posted this:
“Avalauncher. What's that? The avalauncher is an integral snow safety tool. The two-chambered pneumatic cannon shoots an explosive arrow into the snow to set off avalanches safely in any weather conditions, even in no visibility”

 

[fatbob]

Here’s a new one ! They closed main parking at Alpine today 7 to 8 am to shoot giant arrows.
What does this do to the 7am parking arms race.

Don't let @Alexzn get his hands on one. He'll be mounting it on the back of a Toyota pick up and going full A Team potato cannon on those early arrival fools!

 

[John Webb]

Don't let @Alexzn get his hands on one. He'll be mounting it on the back of a Toyota pick up and going full A Team potato cannon on those early arrival fools!

That’s an attack vehicle in 3rd world countries !
What could go wrong.
needed to clear traffic on rt 89 !

 

[fatbob]

Ordinary skiers try to buy a cookie at Wildflour too early at 5.45

 

[Chickenmonkey]

Arms race was raised again today. A Bay Area news station just said Palisades Tahoe recommends getting to the hill at 7 am.

 

[Dougb]

Today's SF Chronicle has an in-depth article about this issue. Reportedly reps from Northstar and Palisades said parking and reservations are one of the options on the table, but the biggest solution being discussed is bus-only lanes on 89 and 267 to encourage people to get out of their cars.

‘Backed up nonstop’: Tahoe’s epic ski traffic riles everyone

Getting to some of Lake Tahoe’s biggest ski resorts on weekends can involve hours-long...

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[Andy Mink]

Today's SF Chronicle has an in-depth article about this issue. Reportedly reps from Northstar and Palisades said parking and reservations are one of the options on the table, but the biggest solution being discussed is bus-only lanes on 89 and 267 to encourage people to get out of their cars.

‘Backed up nonstop’: Tahoe’s epic ski traffic riles everyone

Getting to some of Lake Tahoe’s biggest ski resorts on weekends can involve hours-long...

www.sfchronicle.com

A third lane is great...until you get to the turn offs. Then they're stuck in the same two lane gridlock for the last few miles into the ski areas. I wish I had the answers.

Last year was a relatively low tide season. How were the roads and parking lots last year? I don't recall it being as bad but I didn't go to Palisades much. Maybe the solution for the traffic is crappy ski conditions!

 

[Philpug]

A third lane is great...until you get to the turn offs.

It can be 6 lanes ... until you get to the choke of the mouse hole. Until that is addressed, nothing will get better.

 

[John Webb]

Bay area traffic can continue on 80 to/ from the downtown ramps (just West of downtown) and then West River St to avoid mousehole backup.
This would work better if another turn lane was added at the light at junction of W River & 89.

 

[Alexzn]

Luckily we have two cars up this weekend so daughter drove herself to work. We left the house in TD at 8:30 today were on the snow at 9:15. Friends left their house at 8:50, were parked in 20 minutes. Parking was still available and the resort had never parked out. The whole parking frenzy is a marketing startegy by Palisades Tahoe to sell more breakfast burritos. Almost everyone I talked to on the lift arrived early today.

 

[textrovert]

The whole parking frenzy is a marketing startegy by Palisades Tahoe to sell more breakfast burritos

They did explicitly say come early and eat breakfast at the village.

 

[migdriver]

Luckily we have two cars up this weekend so daughter drove herself to work. We left the house in TD at 8:30 today were on the snow at 9:15. Friends left their house at 8:50, were parked in 20 minutes. Parking was still available and the resort had never parked out. The whole parking frenzy is a marketing startegy by Palisades Tahoe to sell more breakfast burritos. Almost everyone I talked to on the lift arrived early today.

Today seems to be an anomaly, especially for a three day holiday W/E. Had to go from home ( Alpine) to Kings Beach this morning and roads were strangely quiet with sparse traffic in both directions. Tahoe City was dead/ empty and more reminiscent of an early May Saturday. Don’t know if this is the result of IKON blackout dates? But things are surprisingly quiet . Alpine parking lots were not filled. Safeway KB was quiet as well resembling a mid week off season. Strange.

 

[Alexzn]

Today seems to be an anomaly, especially for a three day holiday W/E. Had to go from home ( Alpine) to Kings Beach this morning and roads were strangely quiet with sparse traffic in both directions. Tahoe City was dead/ empty and more reminiscent of an early May Saturday. Don’t know if this is the result of IKON blackout dates? But things are surprisingly quiet . Alpine parking lots were not filled. Safeway KB was quiet as well resembling a mid week off season. Strange.

Friends who left their Prosser house at 7 am reported very heavy traffic on the way to Squaw. By 8:15 everything subsided. This is a blackout day, sure, that always helps with crowding. But my explanation is simpler: if people are told to arrive by 7-7:30, there are just not that many people left to go after 8. Last week it was the same pattern.

The lots were not filled, but that’s not surprising. It’s a blackout day with no new snow. Those days have always been decent crowd wise…

Apparently the village was a zoo inn the morning. Huge lines out the door everywhere, EuroShack, Coffee ar, Starbucks, Wildflour. The merchants must be loving the new pattern.

I will repeat this again, unless it’s a powder bluebird day, or you have a reason to be there early (resort job, ski team drop off, last minute shopping), do not drive there at 7 am, you will just sit in gridlock traffic. Get that extra hour of sleep instead.

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

Driving to Tahoe Donner Nordic through town was surprisingly quiet at 0840. Big crowd didn’t show up. Parking lot was expected to fill up with overflow at the Lodge but it never happened.

 

[Alexzn]

8:15 from TD. No traffic whatsoever. Both Village lots full, but still plenty of space on the OVL lot. Seems like everyone has arrived early again. I’m now curious when the fever breaks and people start realizing that they can leave later and still be OK.

 

[Pequenita]

Both Village lots full, but still plenty of space on the OVL lot.

That's still a little nuts, though. It used to be arrive at 10 and be in the OVL lot, not arrive before 9 and wind up there.

 

[John Webb]

That's still a little nuts, though. It used to be arrive at 10 and be in the OVL lot, not arrive before 9 and wind up there.

I often arrive at 10am and have never ended up in OVL lots. (I don't go on Saturdays). I Just drive to the front of the
line and there are always early birds with day jobs who ski for an hour or 2 then take off for work in town.
Sometimes I have to wait 5 minutes for one to pack up. By 11 or 11:30 it's easy. By noon the upper lots get reposted
as some "limited parking".

 

[Alexzn]

That's still a little nuts, though. It used to be arrive at 10 and be in the OVL lot, not arrive before 9 and wind up there.

The whole transportation situation this year is completely and utterly nuts.