LTCC, Tahoe Conservancy Celebrate Completion of Critical Portion of Greenway Trail
June 22, 2022
Members of the California Tahoe Conservancy board, the City of South Lake Tahoe, and
Lake Tahoe Community College gathered recently to mark the opening and dedication
of a crucial portion of what is now called the Dennis T. Machida Memorial Greenway.
This 3.86 mile-long trail located on LTCC’s property connects multiple south shore
neighborhoods with the college, and is master-planned to one day reach all the way
from Meyers in the south to the CA/NV border at Stateline to the northeast.
This trail allows cyclists and walkers to safely cross miles of South Lake Tahoe in an environmentally sensitive, carbon-reducing way while enjoying the great outdoors free of vehicle traffic. It also provides connectivity and convenience to the community and the college.
“It’s all about creating a connected community through the power of partnership,” said LTCC Superintendent/President Jeff DeFranco. “This trail makes it easier and greener for our students, employees, and the community to access the college affordably. It also provides connection to our mobility hub and all of the buses and routes that loop through our campus. Our community can save money on gas, use green electric buses to further access the south shore, and help reduce local carbon and pollution emissions.”
The college’s participation in what was then called the South Shore Greenway Shared Use Trail was approved by LTCC’s Board of Trustees back in 2015. When it is fully completed, the 10-mile trail will span from Meyers to the southwest to the CA/NV state line. It currently connects Meyers to the Sierra Tract neighborhood, LTCC, Bijou Community Park and its surrounding neighborhoods, Bijou Elementary School, and South Tahoe Middle School.
LTCC contributed approximately $700,000 in Measure F bond dollars to this project and participated in a land swap with the California Tahoe Conservancy and the City of South Lake Tahoe to allow this trail to go forward from planning to reality. Originally, the state of California intended to use the land involved for a four-lane highway through the south shore. It thankfully never happened, due to environmental concerns.
The newly dedicated segment of the trail has an elevated bridge that crosses Trout Creek and the meadow behind LTCC, connecting the college to the Sierra Tract neighborhood and other points to the south.
The City of South Lake Tahoe plans to extend the trail into the Ski Run neighborhood. Future extensions would continue the trail all the way into Van Sickle Bi-State Park and Stateline area neighborhoods.