NDOT scraps lane reduction 'road diet' plan on US-50 along Tahoe's east shore
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 11/27/2023 - 8:55am
CARSON CITY — Plans by the Nevada Department of Transportation to create a "road diet" along US-50 between Stateline and State Route 28 along Tahoe's east shore have been changed after the Transportation Board's meeting last week.
Plans for reducing the four lanes to three lanes, with middle turn lanes and bike lanes to address safety concerns and access have been a hot topic. While most have stated they want safer roads, they didn't like the lane reduction plans.
The US-50 Tahoe East Shore Corridor Management Plan was discussed and NDOT says it is no longer considering incorporating lane reductions as part of the efforts.
Nevada Gov. Lombardo said he spoke with Douglas County Sheriff Daniel Coverly and other law enforcement to increase patrols along US-50 between Stateline and SR28 to reduce speeds.
"I appreciate the public's participation, it shows the process is working," said Lombardo. "Safety was the backbone of this idea and we'll do everything within our authority and ability to adjust the safety issues without the road diet. It makes a difference people are being heard."
The lane reduction "road diet" was going to be a part of a demonstration project that was going to be on a section of the highway in 2024 through repaving and re-striping.
A road diet typically involves converting an existing four-lane undivided roadway to a three-lane roadway consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left-turn lane. Benefits of road diet installations may include a reduction of rear-end and left-turn crashes due to the dedicated left-turn lane.
There are still other short and long-term improvements being analyzed, such as the aforementioned traffic enforcement, signals, speed feedback signs, new turn lanes, and other options to enhance safety and mobility on the corridor.
There was a survey of residents conducted from September 1 through October 2, and NDOT received 1,938 responses from the over 4,000 mailers sent out, as well as links shared digitally, emails, and press releases. 70 percent of the responders lived within the project area, and 80 percent traveled through it at least weekly.
The survey results were evenly distributed with 35 percent in favor of a demonstration period (which would include lane reductions), 38 percent said no, and 27 percent said maybe. They were also asked, that if the demonstration period showed safety benefits, would they be in favor of longer-term solutions? 32 percent said yes, 33 percent said maybe, and 35 percent said no.
Only the lane configuration, not the actual width of the road, would have changed as part of the temporary test project, allowing continued full use of the road during a controlled evacuation.
NDOT will continue to closely review and incorporate public and stakeholder feedback into the planning process and the final report, which will be published in 2024. Go here for more on the project.
