Traffic lights along Highway 50 through Placerville will remain green this weekend as part of a new plan. El Dorado County’s “Green Trip” pilot program is designed to study whether maintaining green lights from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on certain weekends can help reduce congestion on Highway 50. This Labor Day weekend, the second of three, is testing the feature. In addition to traffic lights remaining green, north-south access at the intersection of Highway 50 in downtown Placerville was closed. According to El Dorado County’s website, the pilot program will take place over three weekends because “any weekend can have the potential to affect the number of variables that can affect daily traffic flow during peak season. Consider factors such as local or regional events, highway closures, etc. Factors such as traffic accidents or early snowfall in Tahoe can affect traffic flow on weekends. Including three weekends in this study helped smooth out these variables, making the data more useful and complete.” A boon for those in Hill or Tahoe, but Placerville residents and businesses told KCRA 3 they were not too happy about how the project was affecting them, including causing more traffic problems for locals trying to visit downtown shops and restaurants. “I’m frustrated,” Placerville resident Dave Weir said. “We locals are going through a tough time because we have to detour 15 minutes, 10 minutes to get to the other side of the highway.” Some businesses said their bottom lines were affected. Isabella Conard of the Placerville Coffee Depot told KCRA 3 that there were fewer customers than normal on Saturday. “We’re very slow today,” Conard said. “Have to take a detour, and then they also have to go through traffic trying to turn around to get to the restaurant.” Some of those restaurants, like KFC, have seen sales slump. Employee Lisa Barker told KCRA 3 that the traffic light project and the closure of intersections were slowing business quite a bit – and she said they were not alone. “Other businesses on the street are also losing business, which is really inconvenient,” Barker said. “I don’t understand the purpose of it. I don’t see it helping at all. But Eldorado County officials insist that this potential new system will ultimately benefit everyone. According to the Green Tour webpage, the project “will maintain traffic flow on U.S. Route 50 and free up space, Makes it easier for visiting travelers and locals who want to stop and enjoy downtown business. “Some businesses say it’s too early to say what kind of impact this project will really have, but they want to be part of deciding what to do next. “I think it really needs to be done with all the different businesses before any decisions are made.” In a group conversation, Heyday Café owner Ben Carter said the 8am-8pm traffic light changes and intersection closures will continue until Labor Day, Monday, September 9. 5. Again, this is the second of three pilot weekends for the Green Journeys project.
Traffic lights along Highway 50 through Placerville will remain green this weekend as part of a new plan.
El Dorado County’s “Green Trip” pilot program is designed to study whether maintaining green lights from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on certain weekends can help reduce congestion on Highway 50. This Labor Day weekend is the second of three weekends being tested. In addition to traffic lights remaining green, north-south access at the intersection of Highway 50 in downtown Placerville was closed.
According to El Dorado County’s website, the pilot program will take place over three weekends because “there can be many variables on any given weekend that can affect daily traffic flow during peak season. Things like local or regional events, traffic accidents “This could lead to highway closures, or early snowfall in Tahoe that could impact weekend traffic. Including three weekends in the study helped smooth out these variables, making the data more useful and complete. “
While many see this as a boon for those heading to Apple Hill or Tahoe, Placerville residents and businesses told KCRA 3 they weren’t too excited about the project’s impact on them, including giving locals trying to visit Come to the shops and restaurants of downtown for more traffic problems.
“I’m devastated,” said Placerville resident Dave Wells. “We locals have a hard time because we have to detour 15 minutes, 10 minutes to get to the other side of the highway.”
Some businesses say their bottom lines are being affected. Isabella Conard of the Placerville Coffee Depot told KCRA 3 that there were fewer customers than the average customer on Saturday.
“We’ve been slow today,” Conrad said. “[Customers] It takes a detour to make a lap and then go through the traffic [that’s] Tried to turn around and go to the restaurant. “
Some of these restaurants, like KFC, have seen sales decline. Employee Lisa Barker told KCRA 3 that the traffic light project and the closure of intersections were slowing business considerably – and she said they were not alone.
“Other businesses on the street are also losing business, which is really inconvenient,” Buck said. “I don’t understand the purpose of it. I don’t see it helping at all.”
But El Dorado County officials insist that this potential new system will ultimately benefit everyone. According to the Green Trip webpage, the project “will keep U.S. Route 50 in traffic and free up space to make it easier for visiting travelers and locals who want to stop and enjoy downtown commerce.”
Some businesses said it was too early to say what impact the project would actually have, but they wanted to be part of deciding what to do next.
“I think there really needs to be a collective conversation with all the different businesses before any decisions are made,” said Heyday Café owner Ben Carter.
Traffic light changes and intersection closures from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. will continue through Labor Day, Monday, September 2. 5. Again, this is the second of three pilot weekends for the Green Journeys project.