This was a LTE in the Sierra Sun

My Turn: Protecting a neighborhood’s sanctity

By Jerry Dinzes, On behalf of so many in the community: Thank You Supervisor Bruce Kranz and the six other Tahoe Regional Planning Agency board members who agreed that the three-lane alternative had too many negative consequences. It would be the epitome of poor planning to burden a residential community with through traffic intended for State Route 28, yet thousands of vehicles were nearly diverted into the highly pedestrianized Kings Beach neighborhood, which is adjacent to the commercial corridor (SR 28).

Proponents of the lane reduction have accused me of fear mongering for bringing this issue to the table, but this is, in my mind, the most important issue at stake. My neighborhood doesn’t want — and doesn’t deserve — this burden, which the county traffic consultant claims will occur on around 100 days of the summer.

Those who have raised families along our residential roadways, and those who have bought into hearty mortgages, thank you for protecting their neighborhood’s sanctity. Thank you for not being fooled at the Sierra Businesses Council’s claim that the majority of Kings Beach wanted the hybrid alternative.

The SBC’s claim is unjust and non-representative of the community. After inviting citizens from across the Truckee and North Shore region to an SBC workshop, the council was able to get approximately 141 citizens to show a preference towards the lane reduction. In 2000, the U.S. consensus reveals that Kings Beach had a population of 4,037. To claim a majority would require 2019 Kings Beach residents, and not a 141 from Truckee-Tahoe at large.

However, the SBC seemed not as concerned with due process, as they were with advocating a particular position. This is apparent in their decision to place an avid “three-laner” in charge as one of the program directors running the workshops and compiling for informational handouts.

Jerry Dinzes is a Kings Beach resident. Link to Article in Sierra Sun 2008 All Rights Reserved