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- Average Daily Winter Traffic Volume, Presidents' Weekend
- Winter Traffic Volume
- Intermediate Result
- Program
- % (%)
- No
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Reduce traffic volumes on the U.S. 50 Corridor by 7 percent during the winter from the 1981 base year between 4:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight, provided that those traffic volumes shall be amended as necessary to meet the respective state standards.
- Average daily traffic volumes measured at Park Avenue and U.S. Highway 50 between 4 p.m. and midnight on the Saturday of Presidents Day weekend (vehicles per day).
- This Indicator is reported in the following LT Info areas:
No Subcategories for this Indicator.
No monitoring programs are yet associated with this indicator.
Associated Programs data not provided.
Average Daily Winter Traffic Volume, Presidents' Weekend is include in the Threshold Dashboard. Threshold Indicators are evaluated against Threshold Standards every 4 years. Thresholds are environmental goals and standards for the Lake Tahoe Basin that indirectly define the capacity of the Region to accommodate additional land development.
Air Quality Carbon Monoxide (CO)
This indicator measures traffic volumes during winter months and provides a proxy measure of carbon monoxide concentration levels according to TRPA Resolution 82-11.
Human and Environmental DriversSeveral factors can influence traffic volumes measured on Presidents’ Day weekend, including weather, economy, and availability of alternative modes of transportation. In winter 2001/2002, Heavenly Resort improved its free skier shuttle services and installed a Gondola near the site where traffic volumes are measured. It is presumed that the continuing availability of these alternative modes of transportation and the Gondola project have helped reduce traffic volumes to a level below the TRPA threshold standard.
Numeric
Reduce traffic volumes on the U.S. 50 Corridor by 7 percent during the winter from the 1981 base year between 4:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight, provided that those traffic volumes shall be amended as necessary to meet the respective state standards.
Reduce traffic volumes on the U.S. 50 Corridor by 7 percent during the winter from the 1981 base year between 4:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight, provided that those traffic volumes shall be amended as necessary to meet the respective state standards.
Trend: Moderate Improvement
Confidence: Moderate
Status, Trend, and Confidence Details
Data from winter 2014 indicate that average daily traffic volume measured on Presidents’ Day weekend is 16,453, 70.3 percent of the standard of 23,411 vehicles per day. Consequently, the Region is considerably better than the target to reduce by 7 percent 1981 traffic volume levels. Every year during the current monitoring period (2011 to 2014) was better than the target. The seven percent reduction from 1981 base year value of 25,173 vehicles per day between 4 p.m. and midnight, establishes a target of 23,411 vehicles per day.
The long-term trend shows an average decrease in traffic volume at the monitoring site of 439 vehicles per day per year between 1981 and 2014, a 1.8 percent annual decrease in relation to the standard of 23,411 vehicles per day. Therefore, the overall trend is one of moderate improvement.
While the overall trend has been decreasing traffic volumes, since 2011 there is an upward trend. Daily traffic volumes between 2011 and 2014 grew by 2,210 vehicles overall, which is approximately four percent per year. This is still within the target.
Status: High. Traffic volume is continuously measured with an automated traffic counter at Park Avenue and U.S. Highway 50 that is regularly calibrated according to protocols and maintained by Caltrans. There is high confidence in the current status determination because established protocols are used, data has been continuously collected since 2003, and current data is available.
Trend: Moderate. Confidence in the long term trend line is moderate (r² = 0.7398, P < 0.01). There were several gaps in data collection between 1982 to1986, 1990 to 1995, and 1998 to 2002 that resulted in reduced confidence in data presented prior to 2003.
Overall: Moderate. Overall confidence takes the lower of the two confidence determinations.
Public transit operations such as free skier shuttle service, BlueGo, and Tahoe Area Rapid Transit, intersection improvements, improved walkability through environmental redevelopment at Stateline, and the Heavenly Gondola project.
Effectiveness of Programs and Actions
Since overall traffic volumes have decreased since 1982, programs and actions appear to be somewhat effective. However, recent traffic increases since 2011 show that there is continued work that needs to be done to address traffic volumes.
Because the Park Avenue monitoring site is located in proximity to the Heavenly Gondola project, it allows direct measurement of the impacts of the Gondola project on traffic volumes. Average winter traffic volumes and rate of traffic volume change were compared between dates prior to and after the Heavenly Gondola project implementation in 2001. The average daily traffic volume before the Heavenly Gondola project was 24,854 vehicles per day, and post-project was 16,307 vehicles per day, representing an average reduction of 8,547 vehicles per day. While outside factors beyond the Gondola project could be partly responsible for this decrease, this analysis suggests the Gondola project may have reduced overall winter traffic volumes, and resulted in a more rapid decline in traffic volumes than if the project had not been implemented.
Not applicable. In attainment.
Target Attainment DateNot applicable. In attainment.
No changes recommended
Monitoring ApproachNo changes recommended
Modification of the Threshold Standard or IndicatorNo changes recommended
Attain or Maintain ThresholdNo changes recommended
Map image not provided.
Map description not provided.
No figures available.
Status At or Somewhat Better Than Target
Trend Moderate Improvement
Confidence Moderate
Average Daily Winter Traffic Volume, Presidents' Weekend is reported as a Measure in the Transportation Tracker. Transportation Measures are used to support data-driven decision making and performance-based transportation planning.